Brush Cookie Jars

In 1911, J.W. McCoy and George Brush formed the Brush-McCoy Pottery Company by merging the J.W. McCoy Pottery of Roseville Ohio, with the Brush Pottery Co. with facilities in Zanesville Ohio. Initially the McCoy Roseville plant produced the company's kitchen and storage wares and the Brush Zanesville plant made art wares.

This arrangement worked well until the Zanesville plant burned down in 1918, and all operations were moved to Roseville. In 1925 the heirs of J.W. McCoy, who had died in 1914, sold their interests in the Brush-McCoy company and the name was subsequently changed to Brush Pottery Company. However the McCoy family was still involved in the pottery industry through their interests in the Nelson McCoy Pottery Company which was also operating in Roseville Ohio.

Since the Brush and McCoy potteries shared the same heritage and name they are often confused by many people as being the same company, which they are not. This is because Brush pottery has a similar look and feel to McCoy pottery. Many pieces are often attributed to one manufacturer when in fact it was produced by the other. Many collectors and sellers often mistakenly group the two manufactures as one.

It is generally considered that the first modern cookie jar was made in 1929 Brush Pottery. For cookie jar collectors it is also important to note that there is no such thing as a Brush-McCoy jar. Both companies produced cookie jars, but it was AFTER they separated. Therefore there are Brush cookie jars and there are McCoy cookie jars.

Brush Pottery Company operated successfully in the pottery business for many years and during the golden age of cookie jars (1940s-1970s) they produced some of today's most collectible jars. It was sold in 1978, although operations continued under the Brush Name until 1982 when the doors were finally closed for good.

Identifying Vintage Brush Cookie Jars

It can often be a daunting task to identify Brush cookie jars if you don't have a photo reference guide. This is because of the variety of ways, if any, that they chose to mark their jars. This included the Brush name, letters, numbers, USA, and combinations of all four. In addition some jars where marked with paper labels, which of course have long since vanished. Most common of marks is a letter, usually "W" followed by one or two numbers, this is then followed by "USA", most often on a separate line.

Vintage Brush Cookie Jar Prices

As is true of all collectibles the "law of supply and demand" controls prices, and Brush cookie jars are no exception. Some of the more common jars, such as "Squirrel on a Log" and "White Hen on a Basket" can readily be found for under $100, while an authentic harder to find jar like "Purple Cow" or "Circus Horse" have been known to command prices in the $750 to $1000 price range.

One of the easiest ways to get an idea of the value of a particular jar, or to find out how much yours may be worth, is to see if any others like it have sold recently on eBay. And if so at what price? Do this by going to eBay Here , and clicking on the 'advanced search' button at the top of the menu bar. This will bring you to a more detailed search screen. Enter your cookie jar description and manufacturer, such as "Brush Humpty Dumpty Cookie Jar" then check the 'completed listings only' box and hit enter. This will bring up a list of all jars that fit your description sold on eBay during the last month with the prices they sold for. ( PLEASE NOTE: You must be a logged in member of eBay to use this feature. If you are not a member, sign up is FREE and you can do it here.)