Manufacturer: Carr China Company
Pattern: Frog Ashtrays
Date of one example: 1946
Notes: Many people have stories to tell about the Carr frog ashtrays that appear very rarely. Were they the work of employees on their own? Were they available for sale, or were they made as advertising pieces? Some were marked, but more often they had no backstamp.
Howard L. Freeze, who was a longtime Grafton resident, collector, and Carr expert, told us that it was Andrew Burdell "Andy" Moats who carved the mold for the ashtrays. He died in 1951, at age 59.
The photo of the two frogs (with gray background), pictured together above, came from Joy Bachman's estate. (She was the wife of Wheeler Bachman, who was Carr's last president, and she kept copious notes on production at the plant.) The green frog on the right has a Carr China Co. backstamp; the black one on the left does not (or if it does, it can't be seen against the black.)
The photos of another green frog ashtray, pictured above with white background, came from Joyce Ann Kirkpatrick, who grew up in Grafton about a mile from the Carr plant. She had a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law who both worked there. She was kind enough to share these photos of her mother's Carr frog, complete with spots and backstamp. He's wonderful! This ashtray sold on ebay on Dec. 18, 2011, in a single bid for $900, which is an example of how collectible they are.
Editor's note: This entry comes from the Carr China website whose content has been transferred to the IDwiki. An effort was made on that site to capture as many examples produced by Carr as possible, and for that reason they might include more mystery patterns and topmarked pieces, or those that might not ordinarily be thought of strictly speaking as restaurant ware.
Contributors:
Susan and Ed Phillips
Joyce Ann Kirkpatrick