Do you have a rare piece of Catalina that you would like to share (image wise) with the Catalina collecting community? Perhaps an installation in your home or a display? A lot of the fun with Catalina are the unusual and one-off pieces made by workers in off Catalina Island Toby pitcher, Toyon Redhours that come to light every year, sometimes very early red clay pieces, or tiles with a twist. Here are images of one of the more unusual pieces of Catalina we’ve seen in 20 plus years. It is a very large (12″ tall) Catalina Toby pitcher, and it was most likely a wedding gift given to a young Mexican American couple who lived and worked on the Island.  The husband played in the smaller mariachi style band that Mrs. Wrigley’s sponsored and was also a laborer at the tile plant.  The image that appears in our book on page 157 shows Mr. Isidro Tarango (see below.) He is second from the left in a demonstration of “tuneful Pottery” at the Bird Park.

The Tarango family history is fascinating and goes way back on the Island. As serendipity would have it one of Isidro’s daughter-in-laws is practically our neighbor. The images above are courtesy of Sid and Sandy Tarango, but you can see the piece for yourself this September 2009 at the Catalina Island Museum Exhibit in their new case.

Musicians at the Bird Park