When discussing TV lamps, Howard Kron and Texans Incorporated are pretty much inseparable, but things get complicated when you examine the other items. Kron certainly designed the vast majority of TV lamps made at Texans Inc., but but he also created other products for Texans, as well as other potteries. In addition, some of the Texans Inc. products were designed by other, often unknown, designers. Here’s a sampling of these bowls, ashtrays, table lamps and planters which, unless noted otherwise, were made at Texans Inc. (as were all the Kron table lamps shown above)
Many more Kron designs can be seen at texansinc.com
Kron ashtray ashtray Kron ashtray ashtray/planter combo Kron ashtray ashtray for metal stand
I must mention the unique design of the pink ashtray shown above…it was promoted as a combination ashtray and planter! The round pot in the center would lift out, at which time the ashtray could also be used on a metal stand. The blue-green ashtray (above on right) was also designed for use on a metal stand.
bear & owl lamps commemorative ashtray NOS Kron owl underside of ashtray
owl lamp electrics assorted pots
The brown ashtray (above, left and center) was also made in a square design, and they both were produced in several colors. On the bottom is a commemoration of the Texans Inc. founding in ’52. On the right above are three of the many flower pot designs that were made. The Texans Inc. pots are typically marked Kron, but some were marked Howard.
display window “Caliente” swan
“The Pale Green Ass”
Sandra! Gilmer Potteries lamb
Above are some examples of Howard Kron’s designs prior to his association with Texans Incorporated. The blue swan (above left) is a Kron design from the ’30s, and was made by Virgil Haldeman’s Caliente Pottery. At the center is Kron’s “The Pale Green Ass”, a marvelous (and rare) figurine from the early ’40s. Manufactured by Midwest Potteries in Morton, Illinois, it was sold with a poem of the same name which is printed on the scroll. The lamb planter (top-right) is a Kron design made by Gilmer Potteries in Tyler, Texas.
early Texans Inc. lamp
marked “RAG”
“Mosaic Madonna” lamp
Above-left is a seldom-seen bronc-rider lamp. It is one of the earliest lamp designs made at Texans Incorporated, and bears a remarkable resemblance to a Royal Haeger design. In the center is a small table lamp, one of the few lamps marked simply RAG. The lamp on the right is part of the mosaic series, a styling exercise that was applied to lamps, ashtrays, and a lazy susan.
Gilmer dish Gilmer potteries dish 20th Century Antiques Texans Inc. table lamps
BIG Kron table lamp!
Above-left is a small covered dish designed by Kron while he was working with Gilmer Potteries. The center photo shows three table lamps that were found collecting dust in the Texans Inc. plant over 20 years after the company was disolved. I haven’t come across these designs elsewhere, and suspect that they might not have been put into production. On the right is another of the NOS lamps, and it’s a big one, with a 13″ diameter. One common denominator regarding these late designs is the extensive use of brass plated collars and wooden spacers. The turquoise model in particular (center photo) uses them as a major architectural aspect of the lamp.
