The first offering of Jacobi Pottery ever to be sold
Kept within the family for over a century
Miller & Miller’s October 11th online-only sale of Canadian Historical Pottery features a selection of coveted pieces from the David & Karen Jacobi Collection. David Jacobi is pictured above amongst his family pottery.
Not long ago, Miller & Miller got one of those calls that antiques enthusiasts dream of.
It came from David Jacobi, a direct descendant of the Jacobi potters of Waterloo, Ontario. For over a century the Jacobi family has kept more than a dozen pieces of the family pottery, including the ones pictured in A Splendid Harvest: Germanic Folk and Decorative Arts in Canada (1981) by Michael Bird and Terry Kobayashi. Jacobi pieces pictured in that book include miniatures, pitchers and a three-piece plant stand. Since none of them are marked, it was unclear how the authors attributed the maker to Jacobi. Not anymore.
And it's all because of that call to Miller & Miller Auctions from David Jacobi.
Lot 1 in the upcoming auction is pictured on page 164 (plate 170) of A Splendid Harvest: Germanic Folk and Decorative Arts in Canada (1981) by Michael Bird and Terry Kobayashi.
Plate 169 on page 164 of A Splendid Harvest: Germanic Folk and Decorative Arts in Canada features a pitcher very similar to lot 7 in the sale.
David is the great-great-grandson of pottery founder John Jacobi (and great-grandson of John’s son Daniel Jacobi). David told Miller & Miller he remembers the late Michael Bird’s visit to his house in 1979. Bird had come to borrow the pottery for an exhibit he was curating at Joseph Schneider Haus, the National Historic Site in Kitchener, Ontario. As Bird carefully wrapped each piece David recalls him assuring, “Don’t worry folks, this will all be insured”. David wasn’t worried, but after Bird left he looked at the appraisal and was flabbergasted. The plant stand alone was valued at $5,000 – an enormous sum in 1979. “It was no longer just papa’s pottery, explained David. “It became coveted within the family.”
Those coveted pieces will now be sold at Miller & Miller’s Canadian Historic Pottery sale on Saturday October 11th. The online-only sale is the first of its kind for Miller & Miller. And this is the first time pieces of Jacobi pottery have been offered to the collecting public.
In his book Early Ontario Potters (1979), David Newlands tells the story of the Jacobi family of potters in Waterloo, Ontario. John Jacobi established an earthenware pottery in 1852 and ran it until his death in the early 1870s. His son Daniel took over and continued the operation until his death in 1905. Newlands ends with the statement that, “no marked pieces are in museums or private collections”. In fact, none of the seminal works on Canadian pottery (by Newlands, Webster, Johnson) illustrate, or attribute a single piece to this pottery that was in business for over 50 years (1852-1905).
A selection of the Jacobi pieces offered in Miller & Miller’s October 11th online-only sale of Canadian Historical Pottery
The sale of this collection, with its solid provenance, rewrites the history of the Jacobi Pottery and early Ontario earthenware production. The Jacobi Pottery will now take its rightful place alongside the works of other well-known Waterloo County potters like Eby, Bierenstihl, Wagner and Ahrens.
The monumental three-piece plant stand (Lot #1, estimated at $1500 - $2000), will kick off the sale. It stands nearly 30 inches tall in a spectacular glaze, with heavy green and brown mottling over a peach coloured base. The three pieces consist of a column base, large saucer and a planter. It’s remarkable that this set has survived in near mint condition.
Lot 1 - Monumental Jacobi Waterloo Plant Stand, Estimate $1,500-2,000.
The sale also features a number of Jacobi pitchers in a distinct and striking glaze with dark green mottling over a deep peach base. Finally, there are miniatures. While clearly made as giveaway souvenirs, some may also have served as salesman’s samples, particularly two perfect little spittoons.
The phone call David Jacobi made to Miller & Miller was an important step to ensure the survival of the pottery that the Jacobi family has safeguarded for all this time. In the words of renowned antique and classic car dealer, Jim Miller, also the late father of Miller & Miller co-owners Justin and Ethan Miller, “We are all just curators”. And so the Jacobi story will live on.
By Scott Wallace
Scott Wallace has been a collector and dealer of early Canadian pottery for over 30 years. He ran Maple Leaf Auctions for 20 years, an auction house specializing in early Canadian pottery. He holds a Masters in Canadian History from the University of Toronto and has a deep appreciation of Canada’s material history. This sale has been catalogued exclusively by him.
SALE INFORMATION:
Canadian Historical Pottery
Featuring the David & Karen Jacobi Collection.
October 11, 2025 | 6pm EST
An Online-Only Auction
(No Live Webcast)
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