Gouda pottery collection

Plateelbakkerij Zuid Holland (PZH)

Oldest pottery mark from the PZH = Plateelfabriek Zuid Holland
The biggest Gouda pottery of them all was called the PZH, which stands for Plateelbakkerij Zuid Holland.
The PZH produced pottery from as early as 1898 until 1965, during that time much was produced, so much variety in models and decors that as yet it is not fully catalogued, and new finds still emerge. The mark above is found on the oldest of their pottery, the 2 E-letters, (one is reversed) are thought to be those of one of the first owners, i.e. Egbert Estie. The 2 EE-s were not part of the mark for long at all.

In Holland this pottery (and others) are often referred to as a factories; this is because of the huge size of the enterprise, e.g. in the 1920's alone the PZH-"factory" employed hundreds of people.

The marks on the pottery from the PZH change over time, but what always seems to be there is the little house. This is a simplyfication of the "Lazarus-poort" (the Lazarus Gate). It stands for a building in the town of Gouda that dates back to 1609 where they assisted people who suffered from leprosy.

The mark on the inkwell is from the 1920's, it was presumably made for advertising purposes, it clearly shows that the "little house" is their trademark. The coat of arms as part of the decor is actually found on the back of the Lazarus gate itself in Gouda.
The text on the mark is in English, this probably means that they tried to promote their product overseas.
Gouda pottery trademark promotion

Initially they just produced High glazed, glossy pottery, but in the mid 1910's that changed to a matte glazed product (as seen above), it is especially this type of pottery that gave Gouda pottery its name, the only downside might have been that is was very labour intensive to make because of the extra glazing and firing required.
For a bit more about the manufacturing process, click   HERE .

And for a tile with the actual Lazarus gate on it, click  HERE .

Copyright © 2019. Design by GoudaInAustralia