Harvard Professor Lura Woodside Watkins book, "Early New England Potters and Their Wares" reportedly took an estimated fifteen-years of research to complete. Her information came from various libraries; town and city records; direct conversations with family and friends of early potters - and actual archaeological digging on the sites of a number of New England's potters. "The excavation method proved most successful in showing what our New England potters were making at an early period, now almost unrepresented by surviving specimens."
"Dish Camp" held at Eastfield Village, New York's historic community brought together researchers, archaeologists, modern potters collectors, dealers and all the like - many of whom would have been the type of individual that Watkins may have spoken with to write her important book many decades ago.
The guest speaker lineup happened in this order on the specified days.
Friday June 21
- Angelika Kuettner, Assistant curator of ceramics at Colonial Williamsburg: Early repairs to ceramics.
- Louise Richardson, research associate at Strawberry Bank in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Spoils of War: A War of 1812 Privateer's Prize Ceramic Cargo, The auction of a British merchant vessel, loaded with British pottery & bound for Antigua when it was captured & brought into Portsmouth. Very important and rare original documents describe in detail the auction, buyers and the merchandise.
- Justin Thomas, TV professional, antiques dealer, and ceramics blogger,: 18th century Charlestown redware: results from the Big Dig and connected areas
Saturday June 22
- Debbie Miller, National Park Service archaeologist: Privy site archaeology in center city Philadelphia with emphasis on dipped wares.
- Brenda Hornsby-Heindl, Chapel Hill Preservation, and operator of Liberty Stoneware: Researching, building, and firing a salt glaze stoneware kiln. We will also be treated to demonstrations of pottery making by Brenda.
- Jonathan Rickard, author and collector: Forty years of researching, collecting, and writing about dipped wares.
Sunday June 23
- Brandt Zipp, auctioneer and researcher, Crocker Farm, Inc., Sparks, Maryland: An 18th Century African American Freeman Potter in New York.
- Jeff Evans, Proprietor and auctioneer, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Mount Crawford, Virginia: Ceramics at Auction in the Shenandoah Valley.
Only the audience can speak for my presentation, but the remaining I saw - were all extremely informative, engaging and a wonderful academic experience.
Justin Thomas Presentation - Newburyport, Ma
Topic: Charlestown, Ma Redware, Stoneware, Imports, Exports and Related Areas
Many of the guests and audience members brought their own fine examples of early ceramics to share, discuss and study.
The National Parks Services Philadelphia, Pennsylvania archaeologist - Debbie Miller brought these green ceramic examples with her. Both are considered short-lived enterprises from early nineteenth-century Philadelphia potters. She interesting said - the Philadelphia archaeological ceramic collection demonstrates a number of odd forms and styles that shows the great amount of experimentation that occurred among the potters of the early years of the nineteenth-century.
Green Ceramic Sherds
Both Possibly From Local Philadelphia, Pa Manufacturer
Early 19th Century
Portsmouth, New Hampshire historian, researcher and author- Louise Richardson discussed a fascinating story of a ships ceramic cargo that was auctioned off in early nineteenth-century Portsmouth. Her research has revealed a number of outstanding facts that include the actual original auction listing. She brought along a collection of ceramics that may be similar to the forms and makers that were aboard the ship. The ceramic terms used in the eighteenth-and-nineteenth-centuries do not always match up to the way we speak of similar forms today.
Collection of Early 19th Century English Ceramics
Brandt Zipp of Crocker Farm Auctions in Sparks, Maryland - talked about his research and future book that entails the story of an African-American potter in early Manhattan, New York. He has traced the lineage of one - Thomas Commeraw all the way back to the potter's African routes. It's an incredible amount of research he has undertaken in this project.
Connecticut author, collector, dealer and researcher, Jonathan Rickard spoke in detail of the history of English and American dipped wares within the early marketplace and today's collector environment.
North Carolona potter - Brenda Hornsby-Heindl gave an outstanding account of her introduction and entrance into the potters industry. She also spoke of her studies culminating around early American historic potters kilns. She even gave a demonstration of stoneware production on a potter's wheel on Sunday.
Accomplished New York potter, Don Carpentier displayed a new-found relation to an important group of nineteenth-century New Jersey stoneware potters. He displayed examples of their work, excavated material and a group of molds used by the nineteenth-century company Spode in England.
Examples of New Jersey Stoneware
Early 19th Century
New Jersey Stoneware Sherds and Kiln Furniture
Early 19th Century
Spode - England Ceramic Molds
19th Century
The potters who Don Carpentier has ties to include Asher Bisset (Old Bridge), Xeres Price (South Amboy) and Abial Price (South Amboy). The stoneware tradition among these potters ran from 1818 until about 1880 - and it extends through today with Don Carpentier's work.
Samuel Herrup brought along a possible stonware example made by Xeres Price's in South Amboy, New Jersey.
Samuel Herrup brought along a possible stonware example made by Xeres Price's in South Amboy, New Jersey.
Possibly Xeres Price Stoneware Jar - South Amboy, NJ
Early to Mid 19th Century
Photo Courtesy: Samuel Herrup Antiques - Sheffield, Ma
Additional presenters included Jeffrey Evens, a well-established Virginia auctioneer who specializes in Virginia ceramics (ironically Jeffrey Evans set an auction record for an example of Virginia pottery the day preceding his lecture); the Colonial Williamsburg ceramics department and a demonstration of early traditional machine-turned ceramics by Don Carpentier.
The Eastfield Village community is very similar to Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The village is made up of a number of early historic properties that have all been relocated to essentially create a historic community. I walked around the grounds, entered many of the buildings and took a number of photos to share. Have a look:
Wonderful Early-Style Fence In Front of Pond at Entrance to the Village
Early Barn at Entrance of Eastfield Village, NY
Early Church Where All Presentations Were Held
Early Graveyard Outside Church
General Store and Antique Shop
Antique Shop View 1
Antique Shop View 2
Antique Shop View 3
Antique Shop View 4
Late 18th or Early 19th Century Tavern
Tavern View 1
Tavern View 2
Tavern View 3
Tavern View 4
Tavern View 5
Tavern View 6
Tavern View 7
Tavern View 8
Tavern View 9
There were plenty of additional rooms to photograph in the tavern. I did not go upstairs - all these photos were from the first floor, but you likely get an understanding of the incredible furnishings it had. An eighteenth-century period dinner was served to all those in attendance on Saturday night in the tavern. The dinner was entirely created with period supplies in an open fireplace.
There were a number of buildings I did not include in today's report.
I highly recommend at least one Dish Camp experience for anyone with an academic background and involved with the early ceramics community. I feel extremely honored to have been asked to present. I can only speak for myself, but I feel the invitation is an accomplishment in my studies, research and future writing. Like I said, I am both humbled and honored to have had the opportunity to place my name with such a respected group of speakers (many of whom I look up to and only know through their publications) who have attended the international event over the past nineteen-years.
Much more to come...
There were a number of buildings I did not include in today's report.
I highly recommend at least one Dish Camp experience for anyone with an academic background and involved with the early ceramics community. I feel extremely honored to have been asked to present. I can only speak for myself, but I feel the invitation is an accomplishment in my studies, research and future writing. Like I said, I am both humbled and honored to have had the opportunity to place my name with such a respected group of speakers (many of whom I look up to and only know through their publications) who have attended the international event over the past nineteen-years.
Much more to come...
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