A Very Rare Late 19th Century Red Earthenware Form Found in a Vintage Shop in Salem, Massachusetts

When I think of what the idea, rare red earthenware form means - I think of whippets made by the Bell family in the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia and Pennsylvania) in the nineteenth-century  - I think of the folky figures also made in Virginia and Pennsylvania in the nineteenth-century - I think about the red earthenware made in New York City in the eighteenth-century - I think of red earthenware made at the Upton Pottery in Rhode Island in the late eighteenth-century - I think of any surviving red earthenware made in Charlestown, Massachusetts before June 17, 1775 - I even think of all the eighteenth-industries elsewhere in America in places like North Carolina, Philadelphia and coastal Massachusetts; however I discovered a form today in Salem, Massachusetts that I had never previously considered as a product made by a utilitarian red earthenware potter. It's never even been a consideration. It is surely an unlikely and an unexpected form. Let me explain.

The use of smoking tobacco has been in use for centuries. In the late nineteenth-century, rolled cigarettes became fashionable in America. I don't condone their use, but for the sake of this story - they will be discussed. 

Their use really began to mainstream in 1865, when a man named Washington Duke began to market and sell hand-rolled tobacco in North Carolina. There was a time (especially in the Victorian Era) when cigarettes were thought to be a healthy practice - it was the new popular trend with some of the masses. Even though I have never considered it before - naturally, some utilitarian potters must have taken notice of what was happening with this new trend.

While picking my way through a few shops in Salem, Massachusetts today - I found what I believe to be a red earthenware ashtray with an orange-colored glaze. It shares strong characteristics to some products made in Essex County, Massachusetts after 1860/1870. It actually matches some known glazes applied at the Joseph Reed Pottery in the 1860s and 1870s. The major potter's business (or at least the centralized business) in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries in Essex County - was arguably the Osborn Family Pottery. Dozens of family members and non-related potters worked and trained at this pottery. It was started in the early eighteenth-century - and the business flourished as the Industrial Revolution began around 1860 - and as the Industrial Era altered the face of the potter's industry - the living Osborn family members chose to sell their business. A potter who had previously worked for the Osborn's,  Joseph Reed purchased the business, likely its supplies, maybe its business contacts and all the original standing buildings that went along with the business. This new operation became known as the Joseph Reed Pottery. 

I feel Reed Pottery is likely the best assumption for the ashtray's manufacturer - this assumption is based on glaze color and clay color; although many other businesses applied this colored glaze, too. The clay color is a brick-red color, which is also how many of the products made in Maine appeared. As simple as this piece can be seen - it is still a fascinating idea considering potters saw this new shift with American culture - and they went right along with it. Simply put - how many red earthenware ashtrays attributed to New England have you seen!? This is a first for me.

I have no-doiubt this ashtray was made in the nineteenth-century. The glaze corresponds with products made in this era. The clay color also matches accordingly. The ashtray is also visibly hand-turned on a potter's wheel - similar to how a larger bowl would have been made. I feel the ashtray was likely made in Essex County (where it was found), but there are also small arguments that could be made for a  New Hampshire or Maine attribution. As simple as it is, this is really a fascinating form to see!

Take a look - if you notice, the bowl has three spots (what I call dimples) where a cigarette could rest.

 Likely Late 19th Century Red Earthenware Ashtray - Probably an Essex County, Ma Potter

Found Today in Salem, Ma

Ca. 1860s or 1870s

Measures 5 1/2" in Diameter

Measures 1 1/2" Tall

 Close-Up of One of the Indents Where a Cigarette Could Rest

 Base of Ashtray

 Side View of Ashtray

Interior of Ashtray
Wonderful Vibrant Orange Glaze

Please Stay Tuned…Much More to Come...

A Great Discovery Today from a Picker in New Hampshire

I think it is fair to say that the nineteenth-centurypotters in central Massachusetts are often overshadowed today by the potters, who worked in eastern Massachusetts; however that should not discredit any of the pottery that was made in this part of the state. Utilitarian potters in Worcester County can be traced back before 1750, where they produced all sorts of red earthenware.

In the nineteenth-century, there was also a stoneware industry, and some of these potters can be traced to businesses elsewhere in New England in places like Vermont and New Hampshire. However, when the potters industry altered its appearance at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth-century - potters like William J. Wally (Sterling, Massachusetts) were at the forefront of the Art Pottery Movement. I personally enjoy Walley Pottery today since Walley was a utilitarian potter, who adapted his business to the ever-changing needs of the industry.

While traveling through parts of New Hampshire today - I came across an incredible example of red earthenware made in East Brookfield, Massachusetts at the end of the nineteenth-century. I am not positive about the form, but it appears like it would have held an inkwell and sander.

What's absolutely incredible about this find is it has been personalized by the potter; three incised boxes have been placed around the exterior. One box is plain, another has a cross placed inside of it that makes the box appear like a window - and the third box, which has been placed directly on the back is inscribed, "East  Brook Field 1895."

I was given a tip about this piece by an antique dealer who owns R.S. Butler's Trading Company in Northwood, New Hampshire earlier today. She told me a picker recently found it in a home in New Hampshire and the picker had offered it to her for sale. She didn't really have much of an interest, but she pointed me in the object's direction when I saw her today. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I finally found it this afternoon.

R.S. Butler's Trading Company in Northwood, NH

When I got home - I was showing it to my mother and father - and I noticed on the base it read, "Made by…" but the rest was covered in some kind of gold material. My initial reaction was to remove it - and that's when it got even more exciting. I could clearly see more inscribed writing. I quickly grabbed some flour out of the refrigerator and placed it over the inscription, which made it more legible - it read, "Made by Charles J. Potter (or Porter) East Brookfield Mass." NOW THAT'S EXCITING!

Any type of signed utilitarian pottery is extremely rare today. The amount of writing on this inkwell holder is even rarer.

 Front of the Red Earthenware Form - Likely an Inkwell Holder

Made in East Brookfield, Mass in 1895

Measures 4 1/2" Long

Measures 3" at its Widest Width

Measures 2" at its Shortest Width

Measures 2 1/4" Tall

View of the Side

Notice the Box that Looks Like a Window

 View of the Interior

 The Back Box Reads, "East Brook Field 1895"

 The Base Reads, "Made by Charles J. Potter (or Porter) East Brookfield Mass

View of the Base

This is far from a common New England form. Inkwells were popular in many areas of New England, but this type of form is seldomly seen. I think its an incredible find - and I am quite excited over it!

Please Stay Tuned…Much More to Come...

A Wonderful Estate Sale at an 18th Century House in Beverly, Massachusetts

Yesterday, I left work early in Newton, Massachusetts in order to go to an estate sale at an eighteenth century house on Cabot Street in Beverly, Massachusetts. I was told that there were some people, who actually camped out over night for this wonderful sale, which included some early pieces of furniture, Shaker accessories and artwork that had sold well-before I arrived.

The company holding the estate sold told me that everything was for sale on the property, which is not always the case with estate sales - and, that a crowd of hundreds of people had gathered in anticipation of the sale that began at 9:00 am; whereas, I did not arrive until 11:00 am.

I was told that the property was previously owned by a local dentist, who had recently passed away in his 90s. I was also told that a lot of the material had been purchased locally by the homeowner in the 1940s and 1950s.

It should be no surprise that my focus was with any American-made utilitarian pottery that I may find in the house, cellar or the old attached barn; although, I did purchase a few nice pieces of nineteenth century painted tin, an early amethyst-colored hand-blown glass vase, a few pieces of nineteenth century American-made glass, an early charcoal drawing of the Balch House in Beverly, which was built in the 1630s and signed by the artist, an attractive transfer decorated English teapot decorated with blue flowers and a deer, as well as a well-used eighteenth century iron oven peel, which I found in the cellar buried behind the stairs.

But I also discovered a number of pieces of nineteenth and early-twentieth century red earthenware, which I found hidden in the barn and in the cellar. My favorite finds were two red earthenware miniatures from the 1800s that I believe were made locally.

Note: I have posted images of most of the pottery that I discovered below after the pictures that show the interior and exterior of the estate sale in Beverly, Massachusetts. These pictures include a red earthenware animal feeder that I believe was made in Peabody, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century, which is an ongoing research subject on this website. I believe animal feeders and waterers were a regular form produced in Peabody at either the Osborn Pottery, the Reed Pottery or the Paige Pottery, which is a style of production that is not well-documented today.

Estate Sale in Beverly, Mass.

18th Century Home in Beverly, Massachusetts

This is Where the Estate Sale was Held on July 25, 26 and 27 from 9:00am to 2:00pm
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View of the House from the Side Yard

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Another View of the House

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 View of the House from Another Corner

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 View of the House from the Driveway
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 View of the Attached Barn in the Background
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 View of the Kitchen
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 View of the Pantry
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 View of the Living Room
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 View of the Dining Room
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 View of the 2nd Floor in the House
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 View of the Cellar
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View of the Work Room Inside the House
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 View of the Barn
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 View of the 2nd Floor in the Barn
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 View of the Stairs in the Barn
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 Another View of the 2nd Floor in the Barn
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Garden Pots that Had Been Removed from the Barn
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Miniature Red Earthenware Objects

 (Left) 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Ewer Found in the Barn

Likely Made Locally in Essex County, Mass.
Possibly Made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

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 (Right) 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Vase Found in the Barn

Likely Made Locally in Essex County, Mass.
Possibly Made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

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View of the Bases

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Red Earthenware Animal Feeder

19th Century Red Earthenware Animal Feeder Found in the Barn

Likely Made Locally in Essex County, Mass.
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 View of the Interior Glaze
This is a Glaze Color Commonly Found with Pottery Produced in Peabody, Mass.
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Red Earthenware Pot

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Found in the Barn
Likely Made Locally in Essex County, Mass.
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 View of the Interior Glaze
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Red Earthenware Flower Pots

19th or Early-20th Century Flower Pots Found in the Barn
Likely Made Locally in Essex County, Mass.

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Red Earthenware Flower Pot Saucers

19th or Early-20th Century Flower Pot Saucers Found in the Cellar

Likely Made in Massachusetts

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19th or Early-20th Century Flower Pot Saucers Found in the Cellar

Likely Made in Massachusetts

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19th or Early-20th Century Flower Pot Saucers Found in the Cellar

Likely Made in Massachusetts

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Red Earthenware Flower Pots

19th or Early-20th Century Flower Pot Saucers Found in the Cellar

Likely Made in Massachusetts

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Red Earthenware Orchid Pots

Collection of 20th Century Red Earthenware Orchid Pots Found in the Cellar
Possibly American-Made
Possibly Circa 1920s-1950s
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View of Two of the Pots
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View of the Interior
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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

A Newly Found 19th Century Red Earthenware Herb Pot Discovered Inside a Farmhouse in Goffstown, New Hampshire

The town of Goffstown, New Hampshire was incorporated in 1761. It was named after Colonel John Goffe - a man who was born in Boston and mostly known for his important role as a colonial American soldier. The local waterways provided a sufficient place for early English settlers in the eighteenth-century that actually predate 1761 - and as a result, numerous early homes are dispersed in the area. It's always exciting for me (and I imagine others) - to actually see what some of these early homes contain today. Sometimes the homes have even been preserved with part of its contents from centuries ago. My parents sometimes call this state over the years as being, "preserved in poverty." Through the course of time, homeowners do not always have the means to afford to upgrade their possessions and rather, the ownership is passed from one occupancy to the next. Essentially, the contents remain in the home - and equally as important, architectural features remain with the home for decades and even sometimes centuries.

This was apparently the case with a home in Goffstown - where an antique dealer recently purchased part of the contents from an old farmhouse.

According to the antiques dealer, "...The house and barn were packed with all sorts of vintage and fresh to the market items...It was a very-old country farmhouse with all the expected and even unexpected finds." I happen to have been lucky enough to have purchased one of these finds, which I believe is a small rare red earthenware herb pot or a cup. It's form somewhat corresponds with a style attributed by Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) to Vermont's nineteenth-century red earthenware industry; although there are some features seen on this Goffstown-found form and particularly the glaze color - that seem to also relate to potters in Maine as well. I should also mention it doesn't really say, New Hampshire-made to me.

I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to examine Watkins entire collection when I visited the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. last fall. The form in Watkins collection is much-larger than the herb pot or cup found in Goffstown - it reminded me of a batter pitcher more than anything else. I believe she only attributes the so-called batter pitcher based on its discovery in Vermont sometime before 1950. I do not believe this form is pictured in her book, but it was taken by the Smithsonian as part of her collection. I found the Smithsonian actually had more red earthenware owned by Watkins than what was shown in Early New England Potters and Their Wares.

There are distinct connections between the two forms in this report; however there are obvious differences as well that include the footed bases - the form in the Smithsonian has a rounded footed base while the form from Goffstown has a flattened base that is similar to a Maine jug I recently purchased in Maine. It should also be taken into consideration that the handles are similar - and so aren't the clay colors.

Mustache cups made in parts of central New Hampshire also took on a similar form, but they are not quite the same. The greenish glaze you are about to see isn't exactly what I have come to know as a "New Hampshire color" either.

This here is the form kept at the Smithsonian.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot (Possibly a Batter Pitcher) Found in Vermont
Purportedly a Vermont Product
Stands 6" Tall
Lura Woodside Watkins Collection
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

View of the Handle and Rounded Base - Also Seen is Some Nice Incised Decoration Around the Top
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

What's especially intriguing to me about the farmhouse find in Goffstown, New Hampshire is the almost florescent-like light green glaze. It's quite attractive to see in person -and really unique when compared to other  green glazes applied by potters elsewhere in New England. The color really says, "I Was Made in Maine" to me.

 Possibly a 19th Century Red Earthenware Herb Pot (Without a Lid) or a Cup

Wonderful Light Green Color

Ca. Early to Mid-19th Century

Stands 3 1/4" Tall

Diameter: 5" Wide

 Wonderful Applied Handle

 View of the Flattened Foot and the Base

Close-Up of the Handle, Thumb Print and the Flattened Foot

Maine Red Earthenware Jug with a Similar Clay Color and a Similar Flattened Foot

Ca. Early to Mid-19th Century

Stands 6" Tall

Before this report ends, I would like to share a pair of hand-modeled unglazed red earthenware figures recently discovered by a person who cleans out homes on Boston's North Shore. Each is playing musical instruments. I thought they were pretty neat so I picked them up for my personal collection. They appear to have some age to them. I am not aware of their origin or even a date of manufacture; although I do assume they were made sometime in the twentieth-century. When I first saw them - they really appeared unique so I felt they were worth the study. Any thoughts, opinions or knowledge is more than welcome!

 A Pair of Red Earthenware Animals Playing Instruments

Found in a Home on Boston's North Shore

Each is Hand-Modeled

Ca. Likely 20th Century

Left Figure Stands 5 1/2" Tall

Right Figure Stands 5 1/4" Tall

Side View of Both Figures

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