A Group of Red Earthenware Discoveries Made Yesterday in Central and Western New Hampshire

"Fat lamps are now comparatively rare, but in their day, they were probably rather common. They were fashioned by local potters who made a business of supplying household utensils of whatever clay was available. Red burning clay was the material most often used, but lamps were also made of stoneware. Most surviving specimens date from the first half of the nineteenth century...Almost all the lamps of this type have been found in areas of German settlement, principally in Pennsylvania and Ohio, among the Moravians in North Carolina, and to some extent at a late period in Tennessee. It is even more than probable that all American pottery lamps, even when made by potters of British descent, originated among the German settlers. This theory is bolstered by the fact that no pottery lamps of any kind were made by the hundreds of clay workers of English descent (according to the author) in New England." (Lura Woodside Watkins, American Pottery Lamps, The Magazine Antiques)

Yesterday, I went out picking in central and western New Hampshire - and I happened to have found a red earthenware lamp like that which is discussed above. I was told it was recently removed from a house in the area. What's really interesting about this piece past its survival and use, is the partial remains of a museum tag that is stuck to the base. Unfortunately, no one could provide me with any information about the museum in the shop. It is definitely a rare form! I have no specific attribution because these types of lamps are so rare today. It's definitely a good find - and the only form of this use that is in my collection today.

I believe the jug part of the lamp would have been filled with oil or a fatty substance and the opening at the end of the spout would have been where the flame would have burned.

 18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Lamp

Place of Manufacture Not Entirely Known

Found Yesterday in Central-Western New Hampshire

Stands 4 1/8" Tall

Measures 6 1/4" Long

View of the Base with Partial Remains of a Museum Tag

As I continued picking yesterday, I came across a few more interesting discoveries, all of which were found in vintage-type shops. They were not found exclusively in antique stores.

This here is a nicely thrown red earthenware jug likely made in Maine in the nineteenth-century with a second layer of dripping glaze that was spread across the top of the jug.  The second layer shows a cream-colored glaze, which then had manganese splashed on top of that. The glaze kind of reminds me of the style and colors sometimes used at the Corliss Pottery in the Days Ferry neighborhood of Woolwich, Maine, which was located on the Maine seacoast near Bath and Wiscassest. However, the handle is not a common style usually seen from the Corliss Pottery; although this jug may have still been made in that area by another potter who was influenced by the Corliss Pottery glazes. There a small handful of possibilities to where this jug was possibly made.

 Likely Maine-Made Red Earthenware Jug with Colorful Multi-Colored Glaze

Ca. 1820-1860

Found Yesterday in Central-Western New Hampshire

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

 Another View of the Glaze

View of the Handle

The rest of of my finds included this small bowl and a small pitcher or creamer. The bowl appears like it could be a product that was made in the Mid-Atlantic region in the nineteenth-century. Traditionally, that's where a lot of the smaller or miniature forms are attributed to today, but there were also a handful made in other areas like western New York. The orange-colored glaze on this bowl is attractive. Overall, the bowl was very skillfully thrown. When I found it yesterday, it was covered in a black sticky substance with paint placed on top of that. Some of the residue can still be seen in the pictures below.

 Small 19th Century Red Earthenware Bowl

Likely Manufactured in Pennsylvania

Found Yesterday in Central New Hampshire

Stands 1 1/8" Tall

Measures 3 1/2" Wide at Top

View of the Base

This pitcher or creamer definitely dates from the nineteenth-century; it was sold to me as a product made by the Medinger family of potters in Pennsylvania; however I am not so sure about that attribution. The dealer told me he found it in central New Hampshire and a friend of his told him that it may be a product made at the Medinger Pottery in Montgomery County in Pennsylvnia; although I think it could also be a New England-made piece, too. It's a rare size and wonderfully made form.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher or Creamer

Likely Made in Either Pennsylvania or New England

Found Yesterday in Central New Hampshire

Stands 3 3/8" Tall

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