Elephant quest: Lewis looked for 15 years for elusive piece of Blue Ridge

Joey Lewis, the owner of downtown Erwin's Valley Beautiful Antique Mall, has amassed an impressive collection of locally-produced pottery over the years.But a special piece that he sought for a long time became a personal quest to find. That piece – a custom-made elephant – represented something that Lewis searched for longer than anything else during his professional career."Across its back was like a carpet or tarp. On both sides of that tarp, it had Southern Potteries, Inc.," Lewis said. "That was a one-of-a-kind piece that was made for the first president of Southern Potteries in the '20s."His search concluded successfully far from Erwin when the porcelain pachyderm in question turned up at an antique show in Springfield, Ohio, in 1992."I was very young in my career then. That particular piece was priced at $1,200," Lewis said. "I did not have the money to purchase it but I wanted to get a picture of it."As a reminder, Lewis noted that this took place in 1992 before the age of cell phones."I ran back to the car to get my camera, came back and the elephant was gone," Lewis said. "The dealer told me the man who bought it paid cash for it and did not tell him his name."He had to start anew in his determination to locate his elusive quarry, which he had come so close to in Springfield, Ohio."So, for the next 15 years, everywhere I went, I thought maybe one day I will find that elephant," Lewis said.Then, while visiting Kokomo, Indiana, he got a clue to the elephant's whereabouts while buying 300 pieces of pottery from a man.The seller told Lewis about a dealer who had a really big Blue Ridge collection."The man used to come to the Apple Festival and set up a booth." Lewis said. "When he got in his 80s he no longer wanted to travel. He wanted to sell his entire collection. His family didn't want any of it."Lewis arranged for a visit."I walked into his home and, sitting up on a shelf, was that elephant," he said. "When I told him the story he said I was the only one who knew roughly what he paid for it."Lewis added, "I bought his entire collection. Anyway, he sold it to me for far less than he paid for it. He was so happy that we were going to be bringing Blue Ridge back to Erwin that he and his wife had collected for over 50 years."The man started crying at the end and Lewis feared he might be having second thoughts."I had already packed the van," he said. "I sure didn't want to have to unpack it."But the man assured Lewis that his crying was tears of joy.Lewis said that the man and his wife were tickled to death that he was going to get the pottery back to Erwin and put it in the hands of other people who appreciate it."That piece sold for $5,100. The gentleman who bought it, bought it for his wife's anniversary present. He couldn't come and get it. I had to ship it," he said."When I went to FedEx they asked me how much I was insuring it for, I told them $5,000," Lewis said.The FedEx employee looked at him and asked if the item being shipped was made of gold."I told her it was a one-of-a-kind piece of pottery," he said. "They built a special crate for it because it was over $5,000."The elephant got shipped to the gentleman, who lived in Baltimore, and the family still has the piece, according to yesterday."As far as we know, that is the most expensive piece of Blue Ridge that has ever sold in Erwin's history," said Lewis.