Late 18th or Early 19th Century Stoneware Evidence Revealed at the Siteof William Pecker in Merrimacport, Massachusetts

Ceramics in America published the first article about William Pecker stoneware made in Merrimacport, Massachusetts about a decade ago. A few examples are known to have surfaced in the past decade or more. All are marked with Pecker's name and sometimes his place of operation (Merrimacport). I briefly discussed the idea again when I wrote an article about William Pecker in the October 2013 edition of the New England Antiques Journal. In that report, I showed an example of stoneware that was pulled from a Newburyport, Massachusetts (only a few miles from Merrimacport) home. I had felt the jug could have been made by Pecker despite a lack of mark. It shared characteristics with some of the known stamped Pecker forms - and it also had a nice local provenance.

I have also heard theories over the years why so few examples of Pecker's stoneware work have surfaced. These are a few of those theories:

1) Pecker had traveled down to New York City and he experimented with stoneware production there.
2) Pecker traveled to Charlestown, Massachusetts and he experimented with stoneware production there.
3) Many have felt the stoneware was not manufactured in Merrimacport.

I never felt any of these theories were correct. I always felt Pecker made stoneware in Merrimacport.

Today, my nephew, Jason and myself traveled to Pecker's place of operation. Last summer, we visited this area and we found what we believed to be kiln bricks near Pecker's home; however today we took a different approach. We went quite a ways to the west of Pecker's home (up the Merrimac River towards Haverhill). It was probably an eighth of a mile from where we were last year. We climbed down a steep cliff to the Merrimac River that must have been twenty to thirty feet high. The cliff had begun to erode from bad storms that disrupt the river. The cliff was full of wild rose bushes and thick brush - so it was difficult to make our way around - and to see what we were doing. It was also high tide - so we were knee deep in water. What we found is incredible! We discovered a trash pile that had begun to emerge with erosion. We did not dig for any of these artifacts, but rather  took what was on the surface. To my amazement, we found plenty of stoneware shards and kiln furniture. It is now my belief that not all of Pecker's stoneware was signed and there are likely pieces out there today that are actually Pecker products, but people do not realize what they are. It appears Pecker's products take on both German and English influences. I also believe that Pecker was making stoneware more regularly than people realize. I am not disclosing the whereabouts of this location because of its fragile nature, but it is incredible! Absolutely amazing!

My Nephew, Jason at the Base of Where all the William Pecker Shards Were Found

The Cliff Is Probably 20-30 Feet High

 Shore of the Merrimac River that the Cliff Drops off at

 Behind this Brush is Where We Found Some of the Kiln Waste

 Behind this Brush is Where We Found Some of the Kiln Waste

 This is Part of the Cliff Where all the Shards and Kiln Furniture were Found

We also found plenty of red earthenware kiln furniture, kiln wasters and shards. The glazes are incredible - none would normally be associated with Pecker today. For example, I saw milk pan shards and crocks that would probably be attributed to Maine potters today. The glazes included metallic black, green, pea green, maroon, gold, brown and so on. I can only imagine how many more there are. A lot of shards were extremely thickly potted (upwards of half an inch thick). I will report more on this subject soon enough, but for now - take a look at the stoneware. I'm fascinated by this! All the shards appear salt glazed.

 Likely William Pecker Stoneware Shards and Kiln Furniture 

All Found Near Pecker's Home in Merrimacport, Ma
All Were Found as Part of a Waste Pile that Appears to be a Part of a Cliff 

 Stoneware Kiln Furniture

 Stoneware Shard with Cobalt Blue Decoration

 Stoneware Shards

 Stoneware Shard

 Exterior of Thickly Potted Stoneware Shard

 Interior of Thickly Potted Stoneware shard

 Interior of Stoneware Shards

 Interior of Stoneware Shards

Interior of Stoneware Shards

All the red earthenware shards were found with the stoneware shards so I assume they are all the work of William Pecker's business. It's just incredible to see this!

We also discovered that the area is loaded with proper clay for red earthenware production. It's all over the place at the base of the Merrimac River. My nephew easily rolled up a bunch of clay balls.

Clay that Appears Suitable for Red Earthenware Production Near Pecker's House

Clay Ball that my Nephew Rolled Up

It makes me wonder (and hopefully you) how many of these examples are actually out there that have no Pecker mark and are actually attributed to places like New York City, Connecticut and Charlestown because of their appearance. I think it's a likely theory.

 William Pecker Stoneware Jug - Merrimacport, Ma
Ca. 1795-1820
Purchased from a Serious Stoneware Collector in Springfield, Ma

One of the Marks of William Pecker

Please Stay Tuned…Much More to Come...