There are a few reasons I purchased this jar - 1) it still retains what appears to be its original lid, 2) the lid is unusual and 3) it has been glazed with three separate glaze colors - all of which were placed on areas of the crock that would stand out to the consumer. The glaze colors also probably showed well in nicely lit areas of the household. It's especially surprising to see three different glaze colors. I'm not sure what the idea behind this purpose was - it may have possibly been a marketing or advertising strategy - or maybe the potter ran out of glaze and mixed three left-over colors on this specific piece. Different glazes can be seen on the interior, around the handle and the top of the lid. The lid is also especially surprising due to the amount of holes that were placed into it. When was the last time you saw a red earthenware lid attributed to New England with four holes in it?! This is a first for me. I assume the holes were intended to release steam; although I do not see any indication on the pot or crock to suggest it was ever exposed to hot temperatures outside of the kiln or even an open flame.
The lid is decorated in a tannish-brown and black speckled glaze - the interior is colored in an orange glaze - and the handle shows a brown glaze with black speckles. All shine very nicely in the natural sunlight.
19th Century Red Earthenware Crock Recently Found in Greenville, NH
Probably a New Hampshire or Maine Potter
This Pot or Crock Shows Three Different Glaze Colors
Very Unusual for any American Potter
Unusual Glaze Style Seen on the Handle
Similar to Both Glazed Pots or Crocks Below
Interior Glaze is Similar to Glazes Seen in Southern Maine
Very Unusual Lid with Four Punched Holes
Never Seen a Lid Like this Before
Interesting Burn Mark on the Underside of the Lid
Lead Believed to be Original
Pot or Crock Stands Just Under 7" Tall with the Lid
The New Hampshire Historical Society owns two similar pots that may be related. Both examples demonstrate a similar glazed handle; however neither still retain their original lid. The first is attributed to New Hampshire with no specific attribution to a region or a potter. It was found in the home of Eva Farnum of Concord, who was reportedly married to Benjamin Herbert Farnum - who was a farmer in Concord in the nineteenth-and-twentieth-centuries. There is no strong evidence to say how the couple obtained the piece or if it predated the couple's residence in their home. It was possibly an item that was left in the Concord home from the previous occupants, but I have no way to confirm that either. There is no real evidence to say how the pot or crock came into the possession of Benjamin and Eva. It does have two separate glazes - the interior is described as a clear yellow glaze by the historical society with an olive and green glaze wrapped around the handle with black speckles seen throughout it.
19th Century Red Earthenware Pot or Crock - Probably a New Hampshire Potter
Ca. 1800-1900
Interior is Glazed in a Clear "Yellow" Glaze
Exterior is Glazed in an Olive-Yellow Glaze with Black Speckles
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
The second pot or crock has a strong provenance since it was stamped, J.S. Taft & Co/Keene NH. The big difference I see between the three crocks of discussion is the glaze - where the two crocks in the collection of the New Hampshire Historical Society all bear two glaze colors - while the crock I found in Greenville, New Hampshire is adorned in three colorful glazes. There is a chance the crocks the New Hampshire Historical Society owns may have had a lid with a third glaze - and there is a chance they did not. The following crock has been glazed on the interior with a cream glaze and the exterior shows a red and green variegated glaze.
19th Century Red Earthenware Pot or Crock Stamped J.S. Taft & Co/Keene NH
Reportedly Ca. 1871-1904
Interior is Glazed in a Cream Glaze
Exterior is Glazed in a Red-Green Glaze
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
The business in Keene, New Hampshire was started by James Scolley Taft in 1871. The company began with simple utilitarian products like stoneware and red earthenware before it quickly focused on molded pottery products intended for household use in the dining room and sometimes strictly for decoration. I do have questions if the crock stamped J.S. Taft & Co (shown above) was actually made at the Keene business or if it was made elsewhere. It is suggested the crock was made between 1871-1904 due to the company stamp that was impressed. Taft's company also sold stoneware products in the 1870s and 1880s that were branded with the company name, but were actually commissioned through New Jersey potters. I am curious to know if that is the case with this crock. Could it have been made at another New Hampshire, Maine - or even Vermont potter's business?
I personally feel the crock I found in Greenville may have been made in southern Maine. I have seen similar glazed shards at the Bickford Pottery (19th century) site in Buxton, Maine that compare to the interior of the pot . Similar shards have also been seen at a related pottery in Limington, Maine that also operated in the nineteenth-century; although seeing the multi-glazed crocks owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society also makes me question a possible New Hampshire-maker. It's all very interesting. Forms like these crocks were made by potters all over America in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth-centuries by related stoneware and red-earthenware potters.
Much More to Come...
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