Western New York Redware - Lorenzo Johnson of 19th Century Newstead, New York

The rich clay supplies located in western upstate New York were likely responsible for the area's earthenware industry that emerged in the nineteenth century. The towns of West Bloomfield, Lima, Stafford, Avon, Rochester, Perinton and Newstead were the most prominent. The industry's output was probably almost entirely intended for local needs. These potters probably sold to local merchants and peddled their wares throughout the countryside. Many of these potters emerged in a time when stoneware had begun to dominate the utilitarian potter's industry across the country. There was likely a Canadian influence with some of the potters in the way they manufactured and decorated their wares in western upstate New York.  The names Wilcox, Gleason, Rochester, Seymour, Lewis and Johnson are arguably some of the most recognizable today and there are probably many additional potters from this area who are not known today. Apprentices and traveling potters likely arrived and left over the years.

Buffalo, New York was first established in 1789 and it was incorporated into a city in 1832. In 1840, more than 18,000 people lived in Buffalo and more than a hundred-thousand in the nearby counties. Nearby Lake Ontario and Lake Erie probably provided a means of transportation to other maritime communities on the Great Lakes. These same lakes also provided a wonderful source of proper clay to produce redware. It seems that most of the potters who worked in this part of New York emerged around the time Buffalo became a city. It probably indicates the area's growing population of the period.

Stoneware was the dominant form of pottery produced in all of New York in the nineteenth century. It was extremely popular in the Hudson River Valley, eastern upstate New York, Long Island and the greater New York City area. Lorenzo Johnson, a potter who worked in Newstead, New York produced a line of redware that resembled stoneware in form and decoration. Newstead is located about 25 miles east of Buffalo and directly in between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It is my understanding that Johnson created this line to compete and supply the demand of stoneware that New Yorkers required of the period. The New York redware industry was small when compared to its enormously successful stoneware industry.

Crocker Farm, Inc of Sparks Maryland sold what many may say is the most important example of Johnson's imitation stoneware work in 2011. It's realized price was strong. The jug was previously pictured in a booklet put out by The Rochester Museum and Science Center in 1974. It was later pictured on page 75 of William Ketchum, Jr.'s book, "American Redware." Similar examples of Johnson's work are seen on page 9 and again on page 75 of the same book. This particular example was stamped with Johnson's name. Similar shards have been found at the Johnson Pottery site that show he produced a number of forms and sizes with his imitation line of stoneware.

Lorenzo Johnson Earthenware Jug - Newstead, NY

Circa 1850-1860

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm, Inc - Sparks, Md

I think there is much confusion with Johnson's work today. His work can sometimes be confused for redware made in Vermont and Maine and often, examples made in Maine and Vermont are mistaken for the potters of upstate western New York. The potters of this area were very accomplished through skill, form and glaze. They produced a strong line of refined ceramics that can be compared to the more accomplished American industries of the nineteenth century.

Johnson may have been the only American potter to attempt such a line of imitation stoneware - he was at the very-least, probably the most successful. He likely only had suitable clay to manufacture redware available at his disposal. Proper clay for stoneware assumably had to be imported - which probably added a heavy business cost. Like most early potters, Johnson worked with what he had available to him. In order to make his product look like stoneware, Johnson painted it with white slip and often applied blue cobalt decoration. He kept up with the stoneware market trends, too - forms would change or alter as the stoneware industry demanded.

Stoneware was fired at a much higher temperature than was redware. The end product was much stronger and durable when compared to redware. Chinese potters are known to have applied a similar technique to their stoneware products despite their end products showing a red clay. They seem to have mastered what Johnson was attempting; however, I feel Johnson did master his technique despite not seeing the huge success he probably desired. Johnson kept his own business for more than thirty years so it is not entirely known how many of these imitation stoneware forms he made, but it can be assumed there was a constant demand due to his longstanding employment in the industry. He was one of the leaders in the upstate western New York earthenware movement.

I have handled some of Johnson's imitation stoneware and it feels like it was fired like stoneware. Many potters would then say that the color of the clay has nothing to do with it being a redware or stoneware product - they would say its all about how it was fired. I still have to do more research into whether all of Johnson's imitation products appeared this way or only some. I do know he did produce redware products, too. Redware was probably his most successful business.

I recently purchased the following jar which shows all of the characteristics of Johnson's work that I have been mentioning. I was told by the dealer it was purchased at an estate sale in western Pennsylvania. It stands nearly fifteen inches tall. The halos in the glaze were caused from iron in the clay that reacted with the glaze and heat of the kiln. You do not typically see this with traditional stoneware products. The third photo shows the glazed interior which really appears more like a redware product than any type of popular nineteenth century American stoneware.

This jar is equally decorated with floral motifs on both sides. Each handle shows cobalt blue line decoration across the top of it. It is extremely durable.

 Likely Lorenzo Johnson Earthenware Jar - Newstead, NY

Probably Mid 19th Century

Found in Pennsylvania

 Great Color!

Notice the Iron Rich Clay Used for for this Jar
Interior Really Appears Like a Redware Product
Interior Glaze Seems Like Glazes Seen in parts of Coastal Mass, NH and Maine

Lorenzo Johnson is only a name in the tremendous industry that upstate western New York once saw. The winters were cold and full of snow. The summers were probably the most productive. These potters were very similar to the potters of the Saco River  Region in Maine and those who worked in the greater Middlebury, Vermont area. They served to mainly meet the local market's needs. The industry probably did not compete against each other. It appears it may have been tightly interwoven from business to business - and rather than those businesses seeing it as a competition -  a great deal of support was shown to enable the area's success. Upstate western New York's potters were accomplished, daring and experimental. Johnson is only one story of the many that need to be told from this area. The overall end products of upstate western New York were really unique when compared to all other regions and industries of the nineteenth century American utilitarian pottery movement.

Much More to Come...

A Pair of Unusual Heavily Decorated Redware Plates of a Possible Unknown 18th Century Origin

(Please do no reuse any of the photos in this report.)

These are a couple of plates that have always fascinated me. I have never known the origin. Each has been suggested to have been continental and at the same time, domestic by debating sides. I never really had an opinion, but I now feel a domestic potter is possible after visiting the National Parks Services Philadelphia Archaeology Department in October. The Independence Park archaeology collection showed a variety of extremely decorated eighteenth century redware plates which showed similar applied colors. Each of the following plates are redware just like those seen in Philadelphia. The industry in Pennsylvania was also dominated by German and Dutch immigrant potters in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The following example of flatware from the archaeology lab definitely demonstrates the traditional techniques from these continental nations. A similar influence is seen with the pair of plates further down in this report.

Heavily Decorated Redware Plate or Charger

Found Within a 1760 Context at Independence Park in Philadelphia, Pa

Likely a Domestic Potter

Photo Courtesy: National Parks Services Philadelphia Archaeology Department

(Photo Not to be Reused without Permission from NPS Philadelphia and EarlyAmericanCeramics.com)

A complimentary color pattern from the tulip decorated plate above is seen on both of the plates I am about to show. They both also demonstrate a Thomas Whieldon type tortoise shell design on the outer edge of each plate. A comparable design or approach is seen in Philadelphia on a well-documented eighteenth century redware coffee pot found in the Franklin Court archaeological district of the city.

Unusual Redware Coffee Pot

Found Within a 1740-1760 Context at Franklin Court in Philadelphia, Pa

Likely a Domestic Potter

Photo Courtesy: National Parks Services Philadelphia Archaeology Department

(Photo Not to be Reused without Permission from NPS Philadelphia and EarlyAmericanCeramics.com)

I feel this coffee pot could often be mistaken for an English potter due to its form and decoration, but the potters of eighteenth century Philadelphia appear to have been arguably the most daring with their vibrant designs of any conceivable period…especially of those potters who were employed in the American colonies. The potters in New England and New York applied green and yellow slip decoration, but they were not as adventurous as their contemporaries who worked in Philadelphia. Of course Philadelphia did see its share of very basic, plainly glazed utilitarian wares - but the more advanced decorations showed the true skill of the local industry that was not regularly seen elsewhere. 

I am not positive where these two plates were made - or if these plates are even a product of Philadelphia or the American colonies; however, after visiting the archaeology lab - and the wide variety of glazes and manufactured styles by local potters who appear to have borrowed techniques from their native countries - I began to question each plate's origin. At the very least, I believe each plate was made by the same business and possibly the same potter. I think there is certainly a possibility that each could be from a domestic potter. I believe the simple Whieldon style decoration probably dates both plate to around 1760 - maybe a little bit before. I would tend to believe that each had to have been produced when Whieldon ware was in fashion and that would probably place each plate before 1765. The popularity of Whieldon ware began to fade after this period. I have not ruled out Philadelphia or the counties of Pennsylvania as a possible attribution. I do believe both of these plates are rare. I have never personally seen anything that compares beyond an archaeological context.

 Heavily Decorated Redware Plate

Probably 18th Century

Possibly from an American Potter

 Wonderful Variety of Decoration

Wonderful Contrast of Colors and Lines

 Heavily Decorated Redware Plate

Probably 18th Century

Possibly from an American Potter

 Beautiful Center Design

Wonderful Variety of Glaze and Slip Colors

The Philadelphia archaeology lab also kept a great amount of redware with a variety of yellow backgrounds from late eighteenth century contexts in the city. The approach seems similar to the manner the yellow background decoration is applied above. A few of the shards even showed kaolin clay under the glaze which is extremely unusual for potters of the American colonies. Yellow slip was certainly a popular decoration used in eighteenth and nineteenth century Pennsylvania. It was probably applied more in this region than anywhere else in America, but the use of kaolin to my knowledge is unusual. It should also be noted that both of the above plates do not appear to have kaolin under the glaze.

Variety of Shards that show Yellow Backgrounds

All Possibly from Local Potters in the Philadelphia, Pa Area

All Probably Late 18th Century

Photo Courtesy: National Parks Services Philadelphia Archaeology Department

(Photo Not to be Reused without Permission from NPS Philadelphia and EarlyAmericanCeramics.com)

There will be more on this Philadelphia subject in the future. The Philadelphia market was extremely diverse with its potter's industry of colonial America. Its a rather interesting area that possibly served as the central point of America's early utilitarian potter's industry. For future reference: I have devoted a chapter to the New York and Philadelphia colonial potters in a book I am working on. It's currently an ongoing project.

Much More to Come...

19th Century Red Earthenware Production in Hollis, Maine

I recently visited a nineteenth century house built by John Alld, an important southern Maine potter in Hollis, Maine, where the goal of my visit was to learn more about Alld's production of red earthenware in the early-to-mid-1800s. To my knowledge, there is no known archaeology available today from Alld's pottery, which defines his production; however, I have seen a number of attributions. I do not necessarily disagree with what is said to have been made by Alld today; although, I would like to see actual evidence that supports some of the attrubutions.

Nonetheless, these are some of the sherds that the home owner showed to me, which were found on the property that I feel comfortable saying were manufactured by Alld. I also want to note that the clay colors vary from pale colors to brick red colors, which is a characteristic that I have seen in the clay beds in southern Maine.

I also recently discovered a red earthenware pan in New Hampshire that closely resembles one of the sherds found on the property of John Alld's house in Maine. I have posted pictures of both objects for a comparison below.

Note: I have also included pictures of a red earthenware butter stamp, which was discovered hidden inside an interior wall in the John Alld House. It is also presumed that this is an object that was made by Alld based on the context, where it was discovered. There are a few of these known today, including one that I acquired a few years ago, as well as another owned privately in Maine and an example owned by Winterthur in Delaware.

Here is also a link to an auction article that shows a matching butter stamp that sold in Augusta, Maine in 2014, which was identified because of the stamp found in the wall in the John Alld House.

Sherds Recovered on John Alld's Property in Hollis, Maine

 Red Earthenware Sherd Found on John Alld's Property in Hollis, ME
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

Red Earthenware Sherd Found on John Alld's Property in Hollis, ME
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

 Red Earthenware Sherd Found on John Alld's Property in Hollis, ME
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

  Red Earthenware Sherd Found on John Alld's Property in Hollis, ME
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

Red Earthenware Sherd Found on John Alld's Property in Hollis, ME
See Sherd Compared to Pan Below
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

Another View of the Sherd
See Sherd Compared to Pan Below
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Possibly Made by John Alld in Hollis, ME
Pan's Form, Glaze and Clay Color Closely Resemble the Sherd
Pan Recently Found in New Hampshire

Another View of the Glazes

Butter Stamp Recovered in John Alld House in Hollis, ME

19th Century Red Earthenware Butter Stamp Attributed to John Alld in Hollis, ME

Recovered from a Wall at the John Alld House

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

View of the Back

Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

Note: Thomas Truxton Kendrick is another potter in Hollis, Maine, who is not widely understood today. I have seen a lot of attributions for this potter, but there is no archaeological evidence; however, there are a lot of loosely built attributions that suggest Kendrick manufactured a number of known objects. But I believe many of these attributions are questionable today since they are  mostly built on a style of glaze that Kendrick is said to have produced even though similar glazes were manufactured elsewhere in New England, Western New York and Ontario.

Here is a link to an article that further examines a style of production attributed to Kendrick today, but appears to have actually been made in Portland, Maine.

Nonetheless, this is an object that I feel comfortable saying was manufactured by Kendrick since this cup has descended in the Kendrick family since the nineteenth century. It was also on display at the Maine State Museum in the 1970s.

Mug Descended in the Kendrick Family in Maine

19th CenturyRed Earthenware Cup Attributed to Thomas Truxton Kendrick in Hollis, ME
Descended in the Kendrick Family Since the 19th Century
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Private Maine Collection

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

An Unusually Formed Pitcher Only Found in New Hampshire and Maine - A Comparison to Buxton, Maine Shards

I had suggested in the past that this pitcher may have been a product of the later potters in Charlestown, Massachusetts due to a glaze comparison; however I no longer believe that. This pitcher appears to be a product of a potter who worked in the 1840s. That is much too late for the Charlestown potters. My reason for the possible Charlestown attribution was due to the support handle which you typically see with eighteenth century techniques in a variety of industries of the American colonies and England. It was also found near Portsmouth, New Hampshire which Charlestown had ties to. I believe there is much stronger evidence discussed below that would suggest otherwise.

---------------

The Buxton, Maine site that contains the remains of multiple generations of the nineteenth century Bickford Pottery and likely the eighteenth century remains of Ebenezer Wentworth has provided some very interesting results. The surface has only been scratched on the potential information which lays beneath the earth; however, very initial investigations have yielded some impressive results.

Shards very close in glaze to this following pitcher have been found that seem related. The pitcher's form is very unique. There have been suggestions saying it may have been made in Pennsylvania, but a group of well-known Pennsylvania redware experts have discredited that idea. There are four known pitchers of this form - all found within fifty miles of Buxton. They have been found in Dover, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine. The last example was a part of the Tom and Nancy Lindsey collection that sold in 2005 at Stephen Cyr Auctions in Gray, Maine. That particular example showed a glaze that is commonly seen in earthenware produced in Essex County Massachusetts and extended up through the Saco River Region of southern Maine. The Lindsey's collected all of their antiques from homes in New Hampshire over a forty year period. Very-little came from elsewhere. That particular pitcher is assumed to have been native to a nearby potter in New Hampshire or Maine. Based on the shard evidence I have seen in Buxton - I believe all of these pitchers were possibly manufactured in the southern Maine region and perhaps in Buxton.

It may be surprising to see this by many Maine redware collectors. I had always gone back and forth between a Portsmouth and possible Maine attribution due to a group shards seen in a nineteenth century context at the Deer Street archaeology site in Portsmouth. Deer Street is a part of Portsmouth near Strawbery Banke that was excavated before a hotel went in. The small community provided a great deal of locally made redware - most of which appeared nineteenth century.

All the shards recovered from Deer Street appear to be imports from mostly Maine potters and the rest west of the city in New Hampshire. Portsmouth did not have much of an earthenware industry in the nineteenth century - it saw one before the American Revolution, but afterwards - the city was mostly dependent on outside potters for its finer examples of earthenware. The city also had ties to Exeter, New Hampshire's industry, but those were traditionally much lesser decorated wares of utilitarian forms.

 Redware Handled Pitcher with Unusual Support Handle

Probably Made Between 1840-1860

Found in a Home in Dover, New Hampshire

 Unusual Glazed Bottom

 Original Lid with Odd Form
Great Support Handle
Never Seen Another American Made Redware Pitcher with a Support Handle Before

Odd Formed Handled that Has Been Seen with Cream and Gray Colored Jugs and Pitchers in Maine
*Handle is Not Exactly the Same to the Jugs and Pitchers, but is Similar*

The Buxton site has also provided shards of forms that have been glazed on the base similar to what is seen on the pitcher. The lids I have seen in both whole and broken forms are similar to this form. Many have a warped appearance as does this lid. This type of glaze was not in abundance at the Buxton site, but it was occasionally seen. It is not a glaze commonly associated with Maine potters. I remember when I purchased this pitcher it had been passed by many because of the glazed base, but I had previously seen the shards in Portsmouth and knew it had the potential for a very important piece.

Shard Found at Wentworth-Bickford Site in Buxton, Me

Probably From a Mid 19th Century Context

Here are a group of additional shard types and glazes from Buxton that I feel are worth sharing. The cream colored glazed shard is very similar to a rare group of lidded jars that are known. It features a lighter and darker cream glaze - also notice the very light colored clay. Maine potters are mostly known for darker red colored clay on their finished products. The clay colors varied in southern Maine. The jars I am referring to typically have one incised line about three-quarters of the way up the body - a similar incised technique like the deep incisions on the shard below.

The jar lids are oddly glazed on both the top and bottom. It appears the potters who worked in Buxton may have occasionally applied glaze to the bottom of their finer wares. The collective Buxton industry was extremely experimental with its glazes. They probably made thousands of pieces each year. The business did show a focus towards traditional utilitarian wares, but finer forms were made, too. Those finer forms will certainly be lesser seen in the shards assemblage due to the quantity of production compared to other forms.

 Cream Colored Glaze on Interior of Redware Shard
Probably a Milk Pan or Some Type of Large Shallow Bowl

19th Century

Darker Colored Cream Glaze on Exterior of Redware Shard

Notice the Light Colored Clay - Not a Traditional Color Seen in Maine

19th Century

A jar also recently emerged with the same variations of cream in the glaze that was accompanied with a very old note that read, "This pot was found in the basement of the Jones House, 5 miles south of Cornish Maine." The form of this jar is slightly similar to the type of jars mentioned above. It was also partially glazed on the bottom.

 Finely Potted Small Redware Bowl

19th Century

Interior of Bowl

Exterior of Redware Bowl

19th Century

Great Glaze

 Deep Incising on Redware Shard

Not Commonly Seen in Southern Maine

Probably Early to Mid 19th Century

Unusual Glazed Redware Jug Shard

It Appears Much More Orange in Person

Color More Commonly Associated with the Lamson Pottery of the 1830s in Exeter, NH

Much More to Come...

Another Incredible Selection of 19th Century Red Earthenware Glazes Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, Maine

These are more of the artifacts that have been recovered at the site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, Maine. Some of the glaze colors that I have posted below are absolutely amazig! The Bickford Pottery was an important multi-generational southern Maine potter's business, which operated in Buxton, circa 1825-1880; although, it is currently under investigation whether this potter's business could also be related to another potter's business nearby in Limington, Maine.

I also want to mention that I have seen some small red earthenware jugs attributed to Buxton today that closely resembles objects that were made at the Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Note: This is an amazing site in Buxton, Maine that is privately owned today; whereas, the location remains a secret until the property owners and the State of Maine determine how they want to proceed with the site. I have visited this site on a few occasions and I feel this site can really contribute extensively to what is known about the nineteenth century southern Maine potter's industry today.

Artifacts Recovered in Buxton, Maine

My Nephew, Jason with a Surviving Red Earthenware Crock Found in Southern Maine

Glaze is Very Similar to Glazes Found at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, Maine

Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Sherds and Lid 

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Sherd 

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 Similar Glaze Style Seen Above on Shard

My Nephew Jason with a Maine-Made Utilitarian Crock
19th Century

 Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Kiln Furniture

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Flower Pots

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

View of the Bases

Red Earthenware Flower Pot Sherd

Recovered at the Site of the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, ME

Circa 1825-1880

See Article for More Information

 View of the Interior

Much More to Come...