Among the earliest pieces of Maine red earthenware that I have seen is a stew pot that was found in a Rockport, Massachusetts home by Essex, Massachusetts auctioneer, Michael March a few years ago. It's a form that William Pecker of Merrimacport (formerly West Amesbury), Massachusetts made famous during his career. Pecker made a very similar form from 1784 up until his death in 1820. I feel the following stew pot falls in between that same time frame. The reason for the Maine attribution is the form, the glaze, the rim, the handle and a similar formed stew pot attributed to Maine in the collection of the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts.
Red Earthenware Stew Pot - Probably Made by a Maine Potter
Likely Dates Before 1820
5 1/2" Tall
A Type of Handle Usually Attributed to Maine Potters
I am not sure how the stew pot was given the Maine attribution at the Bidwell House - I have also been told by a few long-time scholarly collectors that this is a known Maine form. It appears some of the glaze was exposed to high temperatures with the first pictured pot. The high temperatures were likely experienced in the potter's kiln, but cooking over an open fire may have also caused this as well. While the forms of these two pots are not exactly the same - they are very similar. Traces of a very similar glaze can also be seen. I compare them by form first then the glaze.
Maine Attributed Red Earthenware Stew Pot
Ca. Likely Before 1820
Photo Courtesy: Bidwell House Museum - Monterey, Ma
The earliest piece of red earthenware made in Maine known is a jar signed, "May ye 8 1739 JD hur Jug price 2s 6d Give me to make with your hand and I will fill it if I can." John Day of Pownal, Maine is the maker. He was among the earliest potters working in New England - performing his craft at the same time the potter's of Charlestown, Massachusetts were expanding their industry. The jar is unglazed on the outside with a brown lead glazed interior. It features an ovoid body that was thickly thrown by Day. It probably served some kind of storage purpose. There was likely never a lid. It makes me wonder why so much incised writing was placed on a jar that was not overly decorated in form or glaze. Could it have been an advertising piece for Day's business? That would be my guess.
The jar is kept at Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts. It is apart of Nina Fletcher Little!s collection, which is now owned by Historic New England.
Red Earthenware Jar Made by John Day in Pownal, Me
Dated, "May 8, 1739"
Measurements: 10" Tall by 7" Wide
Photo Courtesy: Historic New England - Boston, Ma
Boston was the centerpiece of New England before 1775. The Charlestown red earthenware industry across the river and just to the north, was the centralized industry in New England, but it is still interesting to learn of who the smaller potters were elsewhere in the region. Potters did emerge on the south shore and the north shore in coastal Massachusetts, but potters like Day - worked in the states outside of Massachusetts during the same period. It's potters like Day that not a lot is known of today who worked in places like New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut - but their contributions were just as significant as other potters who were more established. I personally sometimes find the smaller country potters equally as fascinating as the larger urban ones...And of course the earliest potters are the ones who have the most historical significance to the independence gained in 1775.
Much More to Come...
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