Archive News & Updates
A brief running log of major milestones, new sections, and notable additions to the Archive.
This page tracks major updates to The Holt Howard Pixieware and Other Midcentury Ceramics Archive . Check back here to see what has been added or changed since your last visit.
Completed and published Section 5.4 – King Santa, documenting the distinctive 1960 Holt Howard crowned-Santa line across seven product groupings.
The new page brings together period advertising, collector-guide documentation, and surviving examples to clarify the tall- and short-crown smoking-piece variants, the separately marketed set of four crown ashtrays, the documented five-piece decanter-and-shot-glass set, two sizes of divided dish, candleholders, the combination candleholder/vase, a wall pocket omitted from the principal Holt Howard guidebooks, and a separate six-inch vase. A researcher’s note also records the smaller divided dish at an estimated approximately 8 × 5¾ inches based on proportional comparison with the documented larger version.
Updated Section 4.2 – Applejack with a newly documented 1963 wooden wall-mounted cigarette pack holder, including photographs of the front and underside markings.
The piece closely parallels Holt Howard’s contemporary Coq Rouge cigarette holder, using the same basic construction, dimensions, and full-carton capacity while substituting the Applejack motif. A collector’s note has also been added documenting the strong likelihood that a corresponding Applejack wall-mounted match holder was produced, although no surviving example has yet been documented by the Archive.
Completed a major mobile-readability update across the Archive’s completed product pages, standardizing product-card titles so they appear above the image and text columns rather than being buried below long image stacks on smaller screens.
The update preserves the existing desktop layouts while making long, image-heavy pages substantially easier to navigate on phones and tablets. The review also provided an opportunity to make several small content and labeling corrections discovered during the page-by-page pass.
Completed and published Section 5.3 – Starry-Eyed Santa.
The new page documents the full known Starry-Eyed Santa line across dishes, serving and beverage pieces, candleholders, and accessories, with detailed comparison of the Daisy-eye and Atomic-eye variations, production-date evidence, measurements, surviving tags, and collector research tracing the line’s late-1959 eye-style transition.
Completed and published Section 5.2 – Santa Mugs & Candle Plates.
The new page documents seven non-Starry-Eyed Santa mug styles and six non-Starry-Eyed candle-plate styles, with front and underside photographs, measurements, production marks, original packaging where available, and collector notes distinguishing Gold Eye Santa from the frequently misidentified Starry-Eyed Santa designs.
Completed and published Section 5.1 – Holt Howard Punch Bowl, Pitcher & Mug Sets, launching Section 5 – The Christmas Collection.
The new page documents five coordinated Santa beverage and serving sets, including two distinct Winking Santa pitcher-and-mug sets, Merry Whiskers Santa, the 1962 Winking Santa punch bowl set, and the 1967 Cloud Santa beverage set.
Completed and published Section 4.9 – Kitchen Cubs, documenting all 10 presently known product forms across 45 images, including the surviving 1958 Holt-Howard dealer catalog page.
The completed page brings together the line’s numbered catalog pieces, the unnumbered “Bear in Mind” memo holder and string holder, and surviving sample/test-run markings. With Kitchen Cubs complete, Section 4 – Everyday Collections & Forgotten Lines is now finished.
Completed and published Section 4.8 – Cozy Kittens, expanded into two linked pages documenting the line across 47 product cards and 181 images.
The completed section includes the core production line, a substantial Rare & Unusual grouping, surviving packaging and labels, detailed marks and measurements, and photographic documentation of numerous variations and seldom-seen pieces.
Completed and published Section 4.7 – Merry Mice, documenting the full eight-piece line with original photographs, surviving packaging, and archived auction imagery.
The new page also records several useful details not fully captured in earlier collector guides, including the Cocktail Kibitzers’ original one-dozen toothpick count, the consistent tonal difference between the male and female salt-and-pepper shakers, and additional production-date and dimensional evidence from surviving examples.
Completed and published Section 4.6 – Coq Rouge Roosters, expanded into two linked pages covering the full line across 40 product cards.
The completed section adds extensive photographic documentation of ceramic, wooden, metal, and electrical pieces; records size, date, and form variations; incorporates surviving original tags and packaging; and corrects several measurements and identifications carried forward in earlier collector guides.
Completed and published Section 7.6 – Need Help Identifying / Valuing Pieces
Completed and published Section 7.7 – Contact & Contribute
Completed and published Section 7.3 – Collector Resources
Completed and published Section 7.4 – Recommended Groups
Completed and published Section 7.5 – My Pages & Socials