Bartley Crucible and Refractories, Inc.

The Jonathan Bartley Crucible Company was incorporated in New Jersey on February 24, 1908. Lewis H. Lawton, a former master bricklayer and a practical operating man, took over the plant management in 1911. In August 1917 he developed "Lawtonite," a new patented refractory of superior quality, and the firm was able to secure a large share of the crucible market. Bartley was profitable and enjoyed a good reputation until 1926.

After quarreling with the owners, Lawton determined to buy them out in 1929. Lawton changed the name of the company to the Bartley Crucible & Refractories Company in 1930. Although Lawton did acquire the company, the Depression dried up markets. After failing to obtain an RFC loan, the firm went into Chapter 77 reorganization and shut down in March 1936. The Company was reorganized as Bartley Crucible & Refractories, Inc., on July 12, 1937, and resumed production in August 1937. Lawton resigned the presidency in November 1939.

In 1940 control of the company was purchased by Walter L. Shearer, a ceramic engineer who had been a consultant to Bartley since 1930. Shearer, a native of Washington, D.C., was born on June 26, 1900, and graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in chemical engineering in 1922. During 1923-28 he worked in the Ceramics Division of the Bureau of Standards, and then taught ceramics chemistry at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Shearer and Rodney T. Rouse, a practical ceramicist, formed the firm of Rouse & Shearer, Inc., on July 15, 1928. Rouse and Shearer provided testing services for the nearly 200 ceramics manufacturers located within a 50-mile radius of Trenton.

They also did testing for raw materials suppliers and sold prepared colors and glazes. Rouse left the firm in 1930. Shearer became president of Bartley Crucible in January 1941; at this time, the firm was nearly shut down, with only two full-time and two part-time employees. Shearer concentrated on his testing and supply business but manufactured crucibles in small lots to order. He briefly manufactured dental porcelain in the 1940s and decorative porcelain and figurines in the 1950s.

Walter Shearer retired at the end of 1971 and turned over both businesses to his son Arthur.