A Newly Discovered 19th Century Red Earthenware Lid Made in Either New Hampshire or Maine: The Continued Study of New England Potters

It would be rather ironic that after writing about a rare early nineteenth century Essex County, Massachusetts lidded red earthenware utilitarian crock - now in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts - and another wildly glazed, incised late eighteenth or early nineteenth century lid in the same collection - that I would happen to find one. I am lucky - sometimes it works out that way. The new large lid is fresh from an estate in central New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the jar was either broken, removed or the lid was left behind years ago. It's almost always the opposite that happens, where the lid gets lost or broken and the jar survives. A Connecticut collector used a really interesting term this week when he referred to these types of lids as orphans removed from their native forms.

Very Rare Late 18th or Early 19th Century Essex County, Massachusetts Red Earthenware Lid

Lid Measures 12 Inches Across

Wonderful Incised Decoration to Go Along with a Bold Glaze

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

 Early 19th Century Essex County, Massachusetts Red Earthenware Crock with Original Lid

Probably Made at the Osborn Pottery in South Danvers (Peabody), Ma

Lid Measure 9 Inches Across

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

 Close-Up of Lid

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

The newly discovered lid measures nine inches across - making it one of the largest lids I have ever seen from a New England potter outside of a museum collection. I have seen large unglazed flat lids made by the early potters south of New England - like John Bell in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania before; however this type of lid is rare, where it consists of a more in-depth form and a desirable colored glaze.

The lid probably sat prominently on top of a crock that was seven inches across. You'll notice below the lid's form reveals it was intended to sit inside a crock, which probably gave it a tighter fit and less of a chance to slip off the crock and break. I assume the crock was glazed in the same color as was this lid, which happens to be in a nice deep green lead glaze similar to the color of northern New England pine trees. It was probably made by a nineteenth century New Hampshire potter, but there is also support to say it was made in Maine.

Deep Green Glazed 19th Century Red Earthenware Crock Lid

Probably Made in NH, Possibly Maine

Base Is Similar to Crock Lids Above in the PEM Collection in Salem, Ma

 Extended Base Would Have Made the Lid Fit Nicely Inside a Crock

 Lid Measures 9 Inches Across

It's the Size of a Small Dinner Plate

Lid Would Have Sat Inside a Crock with an Opening 7 Inches Across

The green glazed lid is very similar to smaller lids attributed to the Chesham region of  New Hampshire by the author, Lura Woodside Watkins in her important book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares. These lids have survived intact with their original crocks (seen below). They were donated with the rest of Watkins collection to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. 

The Chesham region of New Hampshire employed more than a dozen potters in the nineteenth century. The Chesham forms were kind of unique as seen below, but also similar to some forms made in central New Hampshire. A lot of green and black lead glazes were used on a variety of forms that ranged from crocks, jars, pitchers, jugs and unglazed utilitarian forms. I do not feel the newly discovered lid was made in Chesham, but I thought the similarities between the two forms were worth seeing.

19th Century Red Earthenware Lidded Crocks - Attributed to Chesham, NH

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

She Discovered Both Crocks in New Hampshire

Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History - Washington, D.C.

I would tend to believe the new lid was probably made in the central-area of New Hampshire where it was found. It may have possibly been made in the Concord or Plymouth-area, but there is also a chance it was made in Maine. A similar dark green glaze was used by potters all over Maine. The reason I suggest Maine as a possibility is because of the single colored glaze. The clays throughout northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire were rich with iron and copper impurities. These impurities often reflected in how the glaze appeared when it was removed from the potter's kiln. The green dots seen above on the Chesham jars is a result of the process I just described. The lid happens to be a solid color. The glaze appears to be how the potter originally intended for it to be colored, which occurred more in Maine than it did in New Hampshire. I haven't examined enough lids to really say where this particular lid was made, but the glaze color does seem similar to glazes used at the Safford Pottery in Monmouth, Maine. Safford Pottery is a possibility. It's either a New Hampshire or Maine potter. I think there are characteristics for each state that can be argued. The form of the lid is also similar to the lids from the Peabody Essex Museum collection; although I have never seen a dark green color attributed to Essex County before.

I have never consider the idea of a demand for additional lids until writing this report, but I wonder if early utilitarian potters ever made replacement lids. It seems like a really interesting idea. I would assume there would have been a market for them. Its possible clients may have occasionally placed a special order to replace a broken lid. I have never read about the sale of such a need in any of my studies, but it certainly seems logical.

Much More to Come...