By the early 1920s, many newly established and converted factories were copying PZH’s enormously successful dark-bordered, semi-matte Gouda Pottery. Huge amounts of pottery with thousands of pattern names and hundreds of forms poured from factories in Gouda as well as those in Arnhem, Schoonhoven, and other Dutch towns. Soon every flower was named, every city was mentioned, and every girl’s name was identified until the designers ran out of pattern names and began using nonsense words and plain letters.

During the 1920s, almost half of the citizenry in Gouda was involved in some way with the art pottery industry. Not until late in the decade did the market begin to soften; a broad-based strike in the major factories, the beginnings of the Great Depression, and changes in customer taste caused the Gouda pottery industry to seriously contract in preparation for the crisis years of the thirties. To save money companies had to fire most of the decorators, and the pottery produced after 1932 lost much of its complexity and excitement. Factories had to concentrate on producing practical dining accessories, commercial orders, and either simply painted or drip-glazed pottery. Those companies that survived included PZH, Regina, Zenith, and Plateelfabriek Schoonhoven. Late in the thirties, the rather ordinary "Rullo" series was introduced and had some success, but World War II finally spelled the end of Gouda’s great art pottery era.

Time Line of Dutch Pottery Factories

A. Early Influences           Years of Operation

De Porceleyne Fles ............. Pre-1880-Present
Rozenburg ................................... 1883-1914
Holland ....................................... 1893-1920
Brantjes//Haga ............................. 1895-1907
Purmerend ................................... 1903-1906
De Distel ..................................... 1895-1923

B. Gouda Pottery Factories

1. In Gouda

Ivora ................................. Pre-1880-1965
Zenith ................................ Pre-1880-1982
Goedewaagen .................. Pre-1880-Present
Regina .................................... 1898-1980
Zuid-Holland ............................. 1898-1964
Eduard Antheunis ...................... 1910-1933
Flora ....................................... 1946-1980

2. In Other Towns

Rembrandt .............................. 1906-1926
Arnhem .................. 1907-1936, 1942-1946
ESKAF ................................... 1919-1934
De Rozeboom .......................... 1919-1920
Schoonhoven ...................... 1920-Present
Ram ...................... 1920-1935, 1936-1945
Gelria ..................................... 1927-1932

Gouda Pottery Principles

• Patterns with birds, insects, human figures, or landscapes are rarer than abstract or floral ones;

• High glaze is more valuable than matte, and early high glaze (which was more likely to be painted freehand) even more so. (Although not Gouda pottery per se, high-glazed pieces from the influential precursor factories of Rozenburg, Distel, Purmerend, Holland, and Brantjes are often both beautiful and desirable.);

• High-glazed pieces with white or blue backgrounds are usually more prized than those with dark ones; 

• Size counts. Large pieces are more important than small ones, even though miniatures have their own devotees;

• Factory-marked wares are usually more valuable than unmarked ones; however, prototypes, experimental pieces, and studio articles may be of special interest;

• The older, the better.

Brief Summary of Gouda Pottery Periods

I. Before 1898: Clay potteries in Gouda produced mainly pipes, building tiles and basic ware for farm and home.

II. 1898-c.1913: Plattelbakkerij Zuid-Holland opened and was the only major company in Gouda manufacturing decorative pottery.  

III. c. 1914-1926: New companies and reorganized pipe factories entered the ornamental pottery field in Gouda and nearby Dutch towns.

IV. c. 1927-1935: Shifts in public taste and a variety of economic difficulties forced design and production changes, if not outright factory closings.

V. 1936-1939: The Gouda ceramics industry enjoyed a short-lived revival of prosperity.

VI. 1940-1944: Germany occupied the Netherlands and very little ornamental pottery was made.

VII. 1945-1963: Revitalized and newly formed factories tried to stave off international competition and economic problems by concentrating on the production of tableware, souvenirs, and commercial goods.

VIII. 1964 to the present: Most factories either closed, merged, or moved away.