All Four Plates - Thomas Whieldon-style-ware, England
Photos Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston
The so-called "Boston" Delftware company that I have previously mentioned that Benjamin Leigh acted as an agent for, was actually a Delftware company operating out of London that was represented in Boston. It was not exactly Delftware produced in Boston, but rather only sold. The Delftware was an English import. I take back my statement in regards to a Delftware product that was manufactured in Boston. English redware, stoneware, transferware, pearlware, creamware and such was produced in England and much of it was solely intended for the American market - and through these agents and merchants there became a means of distribution.
Pre-Revolutionary War Creamware Teapot
Made for the American Market
Photo Courtesy: Pook and Pook Auctions - Downington, PA
Leigh was a merchant in Boston and he had an office located on Merchant's Row (today known as Faneuil Hall) that was at the time called "Leigh's Intelligence Office." His partner in the "New-Boston" Pottery venture was Jonathan Allman. Allman was actually the potter and Leigh was the businessman. I had previously question whether they were both merchants. Allman was instead a Boston potter and not a merchant.
Early in 1769, Leigh and Allman placed an advertisement in the Boston Gazette looking for young apprentices to work and train under Allman in the manufactory. The advertisement was also asking for clay and sand samples to be brought to the Leigh Intelligence Office. It "was" known at the time of Leigh and Allman's venture that Boston did not sustain proper clay deposits to manufacture such formal tablewares. The clay for such a ceramic would need to be shipped to Boston and the business. It was believed that the proper clay existed elsewhere in New England.
Eight days after the initial advertisement, a potter by the last name of "Richardson" arrived in Boston from Connecticut on the sloop Polly. It is unknown at this time if Richardson traveled to Boston to work at the "New-Boston" Pottery business or if it was only a coincidence. His first name is also not known. The records of this person are clouded and details of his purpose in Boston are not known. It is likely a possibility that he indeed landed to work at the "New-Boston" Pottery as result of the advertisement, though we cannot be certain of his intentions. There could have been a number of possibilities for his visit. We do know he was potter who came to Boston to work - other than that, all else is unknown.
On May 31, 1769, both Leigh and Allman presented their business idea to the General Court pursuing financial help to sustain their business. They also presented clay and sand samples to demonstrate to the court what their ceramics' clay source would derive from. It was their intention and which was made clear that their wares would be of equal quality, use and form to that of England, but at a cheaper cost to the public.
Leigh and Allman told the court that they intended to employ poor children. They both felt that would help the local economy and make their argument for funding stronger - since the public was purportedly paying for these so-called "poor children."
The General Court granted Leigh and Allman 200 pounds to help start the "New-Boston" Pottery. They both agreed to pay back the loan in time.
Now with the funding available, the "New-Boston" Pottery, Leigh and Allman sought to find a location for the manufactory. A nearby home and a few adjacent buildings were purchased on the west side of Leverett Street, which was a continuation of Lynde Street - and this would be the place of opertation for Leigh and Allman. I have also previously mentioned that the location of the business is near where the Historic Otis House stands today.
Otis House, Bowdoin Square, Boston's West End
Photo Courtesy: Historic New England
If we step back in time before 1769, only feet from where the "New-Boston" Pottery building stood, is where David Symonds, another "New-Boston" potter previously operated his own kiln and shop.
I use the name "New-Boston" Pottery for Leigh and Allman's business because the original name is not known. I guess I could use Leigh & Allman Pottery or Benjamin Leigh Pottery or even Jonathan Allman Pottery, but for me personally, "New-Boston" Pottery sounds most appropriate.
David Symonds worked out of a converted snuff mill. His business stood to the northwest of the Old West Church on Lynde Street. The Old West Church was also known as the "Meeting House" for Doctor Mayhew at the time.
Symonds is just another example of an eighteenth century colonial potter who is believed to have worked in redware - and not stoneware in Boston. It is common knowledge among many today that redware was not produced in Boston during this period. There will be much more on eighteenth century Boston and Charlestown redware in the future.
Symonds first ran an advertisement in the Boston Gazette on June 18, 1751. I have not personally seen the ad, but I figure he may have been advertising for apprentices, clay or as a public way to offer and present his wares to the general marketplace of Boston.
Symonds is believed to have worked from 1748 to 1766. He did not die until 1796 so it is unclear at this time why he stopped his business and what his role was from 1766 until his death. His business appears to have flourished for nearly twenty-years. I would like to know why it ended. It could be a strong probability that imported English wares became more desirable, and Symonds was not able to sustain or compete. I feel that in-time, my research will reveal that nearly every eighteenth century Boston potter felt an impact of some kind from England.
I want to prove through research that the life of an eighteenth century potter was a constant struggle due to English wares and war.
The American Revolution appears to have played a major role in the decline of the redware potter in Boston and Charlestown. The ceramic wares of England were believed to be superior - and that too, made it extremely tough for a potter to withstand a ceramics business in the colonies. From a collector's eye today, the American wares are much more desirable due to rarity and skill, but back in eighteenth century America, the American wares were viewed more often that not as second-rate and inferior to that of England.
Liverpool, England Creamware Pitcher
Made for the American Market
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston
On October 30, 1769, Leigh and Allman placed another advertisement - and once again, they were seeking young apprentices to work in their potters' business.
John Spargo wrote in his book, "Early American Pottery and China," that Anthony Haswell, was an apprentice in Boston around the time of 1769 to 1770. It is unclear where he was an apprentice, but it very-well could have been at the "New-Boston" Pottery business. Haswell would have been thirteen, maybe fourteen years-old at the time. He was born in 1756.
Captain John Norton, who was the pioneer potter whom started the Bennington Pottery tradition in Bennington, Vermont - would have been eleven, maybe twelve years old at the time of the apprenticeships at "New-Boston" Pottery. He was born in 1758. Norton would have been the appropriate age to apprentice.
John Norton founded Bennington Pottery in 1785, a tradition that descended down through generation after generation of potters.
Anthony Haswell eventually ended up working in Bennington under Norton as the company's pioneer printer. Could these two have met at the "New-Boston" Pottery while apprentices under Allman? Norton was born in Connecticut and he eventually settled in Bennington. Is it really that unrealistic that his travels could have brought him to Boston before moving to Bennington? I think it is very realistic.
Did Norton and Haswell both end up in Bennington from a friendship they formed at "New-Boston" Pottery? That is the question of the moment for me.
John Norton was also a native of Connecticut and this is where the potter by the name of "Richardson" came from. Is there a connection between these two potters? This is fascinating! Norton has a potential connection between both possible apprentices at "New-Boston" Pottery? Was there a relationship or is this all coincidence?
If this is the case, "New-Boston" Pottery could have played one of the most important roles in the history of American ceramics, despite it only lasting one-year. It could have possibly laid Norton the foundation, career and direction needed at such an early age to envision such an enterprise in Bennington for years to come. Bennington Pottery jump-started the careers of many accomplished New England potters and it provided American households ceramic wares for more than a century. Without Norton, none of this may have come to fruition. Could "New-Boston" Pottery be responsible for such success in Vermont? Was "New-Boston" Pottery the foundation of such an enterprise in Bennington?
For those who don't know, what many refer to as "Bennington Pottery" today is the product of a major opertion located in Bennington, Vermont. The result was a variety of ceramic wares that were produced from a number of companies. John Norton began the tradition when he estabilished the initial business.
J. Norton & Company
Bennington Stoneware Jar, Circa 1820
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston
Lymon, Fenton & Company
Bennington Flynt Enamel Glazed Pitcher (Tableware), Circa 1840
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston
United State Pottery Company
Bennington Parian Porcelain Pitcher (Tableware), Circa 1860
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston
Exactly one-year after Leigh and Allman began their tortoise-ware experiment, the company failed. A merchant by the name of Joseph Wilson, purchased the remaining inventory and land. It was not for another forty-years that another New England pottery made an attempt at manufacturing fine ceramic tablewares.
The unknown is what needs to be filled in as to what happened during this one-year of existence for the "New-Boston" Pottery.
According to a previous post derived from a period 1769 advertisement, a merchant by the name of Nathaniel Cudworth ultimately ended up with the tortoise shell wares at his King Street shop. I am unaware at this time of what Cudworth's relationship was with Wilson and why he ended up with the pottery.
"Nathaniel Cudworth, informs his customers and others he has removed from a store on King-Street, to a Shop at the South-End, three Doors above the Sign of the Lamb, Where he has to sell", among other listed articles of merchandise, "A good assortment of Tortoise and Agat colour'd Earthen Ware, made in BOSTON, by Leigh and Allman."
If Leigh and Allman had studied the geography of New England and its clay beds, they would have both realized that the native New England clays were not suitable for English-style tablewares. From the start they were setup for failure, but if it were not for this experimental enterprise, the idea of Captain John Norton and Bennington Pottery may have never happened. It will will be interesting to see if I can actually prove John Norton apprenticed in Boston under Jonathan Allman - or at the very least met Haswell through travels to Boston. I am going to try my best to find a link with these potters and "New-Boston Pottery. If proven true, it will be an extremely important development and progression of a potter that occured within the ceramics industry of eighteenth century Boston.
If such "New-Boston" Pottery examples do exist, you will more than likely see Whieldon-style tortoise shell wares with imperfections in the glaze and body form due to impurities in the clay. Native New England clay is more suitable for redware and stoneware, but much less ideal for a more refined ceramic such as tablewares. I am confident there is one example that has survived which is residing in a longtime private New Hampshire collection.
I hope there is still more to be found, attributed and identified.
More research to come....
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