StoryBook Ceramics : We Hate Fakes Too

We've been saying it for years now, and it's fallen on mostly deaf ears. The collector books are wrong. The collector websites are wrong. The "fakes' education pages are wrong. And now, here it is, and "I told you so" feels pretty hollow.

Once and for all, SIZE DOESN'T MATTER.



Novice collector's have been told for years through books, websites, and emails that the "Golden Standard" for telling a "fake" cookie jar from an authentic one was the size. Since everyone knows that reproductions are 5-7% smaller, if the jar is the height listed in the books, it must be real... right?

WRONG!

StoryBook Ceramics, as ceramicists and collectors, has a unique perspective on counterfeit pottery. Not only can we look at "what" is being reproduced illicitly, we can comment on "how" it is being done. Projecting further, we can even look into the future at what is possible technically, and that is the path that has lead to this current issue.

Up until recently, counterfeiters didn't pay much attention to the size or height quotient. They recreated the pieces using the traditional "knock off a mold" technique that left the finished product smaller than the original. Because of that, books, collectors, and educators became far too comfortable with the idea that size was the one thing that could always be depended on to reveal the "truth" of a jar.

But that comfort level was then, and is now especially, an illusion.

Although it is technically more difficult, as a mold maker there are several techniques one can employ to "stretch" a cookie jar the needed 1/2 inch or so back to the original height. It was only a matter of time until someone decided to go the extra step and rework their counterfeits, and if you look on eBay now, you'll see the results.

The McCoy Mammy, Shawnee Puss n Boots, Shawnee Jo-Jo the Clown, and Shawnee Smiley Pig have ALL been reworked with the new height adjustment. They are now "full size", and still fake as a three dollar bill.

A whole new set of benchmarks is necessary to separate these jars from their authentic predecessors, and I hope to get the word out quickly, or these new jars are going to fool a LOT of people.... perhaps even the very comfortable experts.

For an up close look at the changes made to the McCoy Mammy counterfeit, please visit our blog gallery. An eBay seller did us all a favor by putting an "old style" fake Mammy side by side with a newly retooled fake for comparison.

http://blog.storybookceramics.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=1

The text for this ad read:
Here is a real find ,this aunti must be made from the original mold .It measures 11 1/2" high by almost 8 inches across.we have showen one of the reproduction jars in the photo so you can see the difference.it is in great shape ,no visible flaws.

Get the word out. This is important. This jar sold for nearly $100.00. Ouch....