An Early Red Earthenware Bowl Picked in New Hampshire While Knocking on Doors Years Ago

Door-knocking is an aspect of antique collecting (and for many people, antique dealing) that I would love to indulge my passion for the hunt of early American ceramics into; however, it seems like a direction that is less sought out today rather than how it was approached in years past. I remember asking Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer, Greg Kramer what he thought about door-knocking about a year ago at the Hartford, Connecticut Spring Antiques Show - and his reply was, "you have to have thick skin to do something like that." He said, "you never know who's going to open the door and what their reaction will be." Nonetheless, this was a strategy that was made popular in decades past by some of the most successful antiques dealers still in the business today. I've heard many dealer's stories about the remarkable finds they've made in early homes over the years - and among those finds, are many examples of previously undocumented antique pottery in places like Cape Cod, Ipswich, Massachusetts, Newburyport, Massachusetts and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The red earthenware that appears to have been manufactured in the 1700's is what especially intrigues me today in those early contexts.

Samuel Marshall (d. 1749) was an eighteenth-century Portsmouth red earthenware potter who produced utilitarian wares for the local market before 1749. I have written in detail about Marshall's involvement with the Charlestown, Massachusetts potter's industry in the 1740's from information I have gathered that was hand-written inside John Parker's daybook at the Baker Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Parker personally illustrates in this account book that Marshall purchased wholesale orders of red earthenware from him in 1747 and 1748. These orders were likely taken back to Portsmouth for retail distribution. In theory, Marshall may have also fulfilled other orders that are not documented; however, it should not be forgotten that Marshall was also a talented potter.

Marshall is thought to have operated two consecutive potter's businesses in Portsmouth very-close to Puddle Dock (city's waterfront). The latter of the two businesses was excavated by archaeologist, Steven Pendry in the 1970's. There are many interesting aspects today about Marshall's operation, but among the most fascinating, is that he actually employed African-American potters around his business.

According to the book, Black Heritage: Three Centuries of African-American Heritage, "Adam, Mercer and Bess (female who worked in and around Marshall home) were part of the eighteenth-century household of Samuel Marshall and his wife, who lived in the southwest corner of Jefferson Street and Horse Lane from about 1736 until 1749. Marshall was a potter, producing utilitarian kitchenware from the local (blueish) gray clay, the iron content oxidizes and turns the wares a reddish brown when fired. He probably trained his enslaved men in many or all of the tasks of his trade. 

They dug and weathered clay to rot away organic impurities. They milled and kneaded it for uniform texture, and made pots on the wheel, the most skilled step in the process. They helped with glaze preparation. The dry pots were dunked, dried, gingerly stacked in the kiln, and its door bricked. Meanwhile, they also assembled and split many cords of wood for firing the kiln."

Samuel Marshall (d. 1749) Potter's Site at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH

All of the Uncovered Red Earthenware Associated with the Marshall Pottery Predates 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Strawbery Banke Museum - Portsmouth, NH
This is the Area Where Samuel Marshall Operated a Business Before 1749

Dan and Jan Olmstead are two well-known pickers from New Hampshire, who's collection in recent years I have admired. They sold the majority of their private collection in September of 2008 at the Frank Jones Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was a collection that had been primarily picked from all-over northern New England in the past three-to-four decades. They described their collection just before the sale: "This auction will consist in its entirety of our own personal antique collection which we accumulated over more than thirty-five years. The majority of these items were acquired by us directly from old homes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts." 

I remember attending this sale and I was truly amazed at their collection of redware. It was more than only the pottery, too - it was the long family histories that accompanied many of the pieces - and the Olmstead's vivid recollections of how they obtained pieces decades ago that really fascinated me. As the auction progressed, everything came with a fun story. As part of the sale, was a nice color catalog that documented this impressive collection. On the first page, the couple reminisced about what this collection meant to them;  according to Dan Olmstead, "The excitement for us has always been finding undiscovered treasure at the source. It still is. If there is a heaven it is an untouched attic and there is a highboy up there with a nest of mice living in a drawer. I knocked doors in all of the 1980s' and most of the 90's (began in the 1960's) and I still do when I have time. Most of the old estates have been cleaned out by now but you can sometimes still find the golden needle if you search long and hard. The haystack is just a lot bigger now. Sometimes when we came home with something we really liked we kept it. Some of the things I found I hid and gave away to Jan for Christmas, and some things she found she gave to me. That's what all this stuff is. Presents, gifts from long dead people of past generations to us, and gifts from us to the next generation. All of us are just caretakers. We never really do own the stuff. We've enjoyed these things for many years and now its time to pass them along for someone else to enjoy."

This reports marks the fourth installment of the short series I am writing about the hand-picked small red earthenware collection assembled by antiques dealer, Hollis Brodrick in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The following small red earthenware bowl was picked while knocking on doors on the New Hampshire seacoast years ago by Dan Olmstead. It was previously apart of Jan and Dan Olmstead's collection until Hollis obtained it. While there is no strong archaeological proof of it - it is believed that this bowl may have been made at the Marshall Pottery before 1749 in Portsmouth. I have seen similar glazes in the artifacts collected at the Marshall Pottery - and comparatively, the form and decoration is fairly interesting since it definitely appears eighteenth-century to me - and the footed base really adds to the appeal of this piece. It would be absolutely incredible if this bowl can be tied to either Adam or Mercer while they worked at the Marshall Pottery - and I assume there is a chance that it may have been stacked in the kiln by either; however, if this bowl was made at the Marshall Pottery, there is at the least, a chance, the clay was handled by either African-American. Potentially, this small bowl may hold an incredible piece of history to tell! What a story it would be! It would be stunning if this bowl could be tied to either slave. Collectively, the Marshall Pottery was relatively similar to the Parker Pottery in Charlestown considering that business also employed documented African-American slaves near the town's waterfront.

Possibly 18th Century Red Earthenware Bowl
Discovered by Dan Olmstead While Knocking on Doors in New Hampshire
Possibly Made in New Hampshire
Possibly Made in Portsmouth, NH
Possibly Made by Samuel Marshall Before 1749 in Portsmouth, NH

Stands 1 7/8" Tall

 Measures 3 3/8" Across

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick Antiques - Portsmouth, NH

 View of the Interior of the Bowl

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick Antiques - Portsmouth, NH

 View of the Side of the Bowl

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick Antiques - Portsmouth, NH

View of the Footed Base

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick Antiques - Portsmouth, NH

While none of the following sherds match the bowl above in form or glaze, they happen to be three of the more complete forms uncovered at the Marshall site in an archaeological context prior to 1749. For a comparison, I thought it would be compelling to see this material. These forms represent the kind of simple utilitarian wares that were made at this business by Samuel Marshall, Adam and Mercer - and I can certainly see the bowl pictured above mixed in with this output. 

 Samuel Marshall Pottery Red Earthenware Mugs Recovered in Portsmouth, NH
Uncovered at the Marshall Pottery Site in Stawbery Banke
Ca. Before 1749
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH

Samuel Marshall Pottery Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Recovered in Portsmouth, NH
Uncovered at the Marshall Pottery Site in Stawbery Banke
Ca. Before 1749
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH

Please Stay Tuned...There will be much more on this collection to discuss later this week!