From the archaeology I have studied in Portsmouth, it is apparent to me that the city was a destination port for merchants from all-over the the world to deposit their exports (goods and whatever else they brought) by way of the Atlantic Ocean and the Piscataqua River. The river led ships directly into Portsmouth's docks and waterfront, where their supplies could be distributed and even auctioned-off to the highest bidder.
For example, this became probable to me when I was studying the John Parker Daybook at Harvard University's Baker Library a few summers ago. This book accounts for a lot of Parker's potter's work in Charlestown during the late 1740's and into the 1750's. The book clearly states that Portsmouth's important eighteenth-century red earthenware potter, Samuel Marshall (d. 1749) contracted with Parker for multiple orders of Charlestown-made red earthenware that were delivered to Portsmouth (I assume by boat). Based on this information, I assume Charlestown-made pottery was retailed in Portsmouth. I have been unable to substantiate the claim, but I have read reports that indicate Marshall and his wife sold Charlestown-made red earthenware in Portsmouth, while they also produced their own pottery for export and local distribution. There are even reports which indicate "Charlestown Ware" may have been exported as far south as South Carolina before the American Revolution.
The Baker Library - Harvard University - Cambridge, Ma
John Parker's Potter's Daybook - Charlestown, Ma
Ca. Late 1740's and 1750's
Accounts For A Lot of Parker's Red Earthenware Sales and Daily Potter's Work
Photo Courtesy: The Baker Library - Harvard University - Cambridge, Ma
Chamber Pots Uncovered at the Site of the Samuel Marshall Pottery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Made Before 1750
Below are a few chamber pots that were uncovered at the site of Samuel Marshall's pottery (he owned and operated two separate locations near the waterfront that ran consecutive to each other) in Portsmouth before his death in 1749. Despite the fact that John Parker's Potter's Daybook clearly reveals Marshall purchased wholesale orders of Charlestown-made red earthenware - it is believed that all of the following pots were made at Marshall's business.
Site of Samuel Marshall's Pottery on the Grounds of Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH
Marshall Made Red Earthenware at this Location Up Until His Death in 1749
18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherd
Uncovered at the Samuel Marshall Pottery in Portsmouth, NH
Ca. Made Before 1749
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Chamber Pot
Uncovered at the Samuel Marshall Pottery in Portsmouth, NH
Ca. Made Before 1749
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherd
Uncovered at the Samuel Marshall Pottery in Portsmouth, NH
Ca. Made Before 1749
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
According to the book, Women and Property in Early 19th Century Portsmouth, New Hampshire, "In the early nineteenth-century, the Deer Street neighborhood of Portsmouth, New Hampshire enjoyed considerable social stability. The archaeological projects uncovered both sites and features closely associated with Portsmouth women and dated between 1820 and 1840...Deer Street was the site of several phases of archaeological work conducted between 1981 and 1986. The work identified the remains of more than one hundred features, recovering large quantities of artifactual data from a well-defined series of house lots. The interpretation of the features within a historical framework provides an avenue for the detailed analysis of the neighborhood during the early years of the nineteenth-century."
Chamber Pots Uncovered at the Deer Street Archaeology Site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Interestingly, yesterday I had written that it appeared amidst all of the changes brought on by the dawn of the nineteenth-century and the potter's industry in New England - that the production of chamber pots appeared to have disappeared as a primary form produced as the potter's movement evolved. From all of my research, the vast majority of chamber pots I know of today were all found within archaeological contexts dating from the eighteen-century; however, the findings in Portsmouth may have broken that mold. All of the following chamber pots were uncovered in an early nineteenth-century context; although, that doesn't mean they were manufactured in that same context. They may have been produced in the eighteenth-century and rather taken care of over the years by the owner. It is in my opinion that most of these pots (if not all) were not products made in Portsmouth, but instead - they were imported from potters in Massachusetts, possibly Maine and elsewhere in New Hampshire (i.e. Exeter, New Hampshire, etc.).
I presume that almost all of these pots (if not all) were made in the latter years of the eighteenth-century; however, I have no definitive proof of that. I have very-little doubt that the slip decorated pots shown below were made in the 1700's.
Like I wrote yesterday, chamber pots are not really a product that I think of when it comes to nineteenth-century red earthenware potters in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It would be really surprising to me if all of these pots are from the nineteenth-century. If that were the case, many questions would surface in my mind, but it would make sense considering indoor plumbing did not become a commodity in the American home until decades later. Simply put, there are just not many known nineteenth-century chamber pots made in New England that I know of today; although, there are plenty of broken eighteenth-century examples kept in a number of museums and archaeology departments.
The early nineteenth-century chamber pot is a subject I have a lot of questions about in regards to New England potters; Was the form regularly produced (if-not mass-produced) and if so, why has the majority of that production line been lost today? I find it to be a very interesting subject.
Like I wrote yesterday, chamber pots are not really a product that I think of when it comes to nineteenth-century red earthenware potters in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It would be really surprising to me if all of these pots are from the nineteenth-century. If that were the case, many questions would surface in my mind, but it would make sense considering indoor plumbing did not become a commodity in the American home until decades later. Simply put, there are just not many known nineteenth-century chamber pots made in New England that I know of today; although, there are plenty of broken eighteenth-century examples kept in a number of museums and archaeology departments.
The early nineteenth-century chamber pot is a subject I have a lot of questions about in regards to New England potters; Was the form regularly produced (if-not mass-produced) and if so, why has the majority of that production line been lost today? I find it to be a very interesting subject.
Similar to yesterday's report - there are examples of boldly colored slip decorated pots, basic glazed pots and everything in-between. The map shown below indicates where Deer Street was located in relationship to the original Portsmouth waterfront where imports were brought into the city.
Map of Portsmouth, NH with Deer Street Shown with the Red Marker
Notice How Close Deer Street is to Portsmouth NH's Original Waterfront
The Original Waterfront is Where All of the Imports Would Have Arrived By Ship
Photo Courtesy: Google Maps
18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Slip Decorated Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th/19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Ca. 1780-1840
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
For the sake of this continued discussion, here are some of the imported earthenware chamber pots that were also found at the Deer Street site in a similar archaeological context as the red earthenware chamber pots shown directly above. These imported European chamber pots likely created a competitive environment for the merchants and potters who were attempting to sell New England-made pots in the Portsmouth marketplace.
Likely 18th Century Staffordshire, England Earthenware Chamber Pot
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
Likely 18th Century Staffordshire, England Earthenware Chamber Pot
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
Likely 18th Century Staffordshire, England Earthenware Chamber Pot
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
Likely 18th/19th Century English Earthenware Chamber Pot
Excavated from the Deer Street Archeology Site
Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH
18th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered by Construction Crews in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
This pot will conclude the discussion of chamber pots for today - the pot was first introduced to me by scholar and Portsmouth, New Hampshire antiques dealer, Hollis Broderick three summers ago. It was on display at the Portsmouth Discovery Center in the city's downtown area in the summer of 2012. I have no concrete proof of where it was made or my reasoning beyond a gut feeling, but I do feel this pot was made in Portsmouth around the mid-eighteenth-century by possibly the potter, Samuel Marshall in the 1740's or maybe another unidentified potter. I have not seen this hand-applied slip technique in any of the other eighteenth-century potter's sites that I have studied in New England. The manner of the decoration seems unique to a specific potter or a specific decorator. The pot is quite a remarkable sherd! Unfortunately, since it was discovered by construction crews in downtown Portsmouth there is no real defined archaeological context or provenience other than being found well-underground in a well-defined seventeenth and eighteenth-century city that flourished in Colonial America. Its a remarkable example of Colonial New England craftsmanship!
The Portsmouth, NH Discovery Center
Photo Courtesy: David J. Murray - Portsmouth, NH
18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH
I Feel It Dates Ca. 1730-1760
Possibly Made by a Local Potter
Photo Courtesy: The Portsmouth, NH Discovery Center - Portsmouth, NH
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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