EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: An Incredible Find in Manchester, New Hampshire Earlier Today

Saturday, February 21, 2015

An Incredible Find in Manchester, New Hampshire Earlier Today

I know I have already posted a report for today, but I would like to tell this short story while it is still fresh in mind. Earlier today, I went out picking for pottery in New Hampshire. My goal was to drive north hitting up shops all along the way until I made it to the Laconia, New Hampshire Antiques Center and then turn around and come home. I did pretty well, too. I found a few real nice pieces in shops in Rochester, New Hampshire that I will write about in the coming days - and I also found an unmarked example of blue decorated art pottery made in Marblehead, Massachusetts for only ten-bucks in Laconia; however, when I punched in my home destination (Newburyport, Mass.) in my GPS in Laconia - I was brought home a different route than I had originally traveled from. Instead, on the way home I was going to drive past Concord, New Hampshire and Manchester, New Hampshire on Route 93. Neither of these cities have high-end antique shops - rather, more like collectible shops. I have never found anything of significance in any of the shops in these cities; however, you never know what you might come across if you don't look.

I didn't find anything in Concord, but I was shocked with what I found in Manchester. As it started to snow this evening - I stopped into a shop called, Antiques on Elm near the downtown part of the city. I've walked into this shop a number of times in the past and sometimes I see the same inventory still laying around from my previous visits, but there are also active dealers, too. I've never really found anything significant, though. Overall, its a nice decorative-type shop.

I walked down the first aisle and I didn't see anything that caught my attention; however, when I turned the corner for the next aisle - I was absolutely stunned with what I saw. I was shocked! In plain sight sat a Thomas Truxton Kendrick red earthenware lidded jar with the word STARCH stenciled in slip. This jar was likely hand-thrown by Kendrick in Hollis Maine around 1840 or-so. The jar sat there peering back at me in remarkable condition. I still cannot believe this jar sat in this shop undocumented other than just a piece of pottery. Finding this jar where I did today is as unlikely as it gets. It's definitely a story worth telling. I personally only know of five jars like this made by Kendrick with a word stenciled in slip on the front. Kendrick is a potter, who is highly sought after today by collectors and museums - and this form is arguably the most desired shape from Kendrick's output. It's a really refined product not usually seen from a country potter in New England. The jar I found today now marks six examples that I know of. I only know of nine jars in-all in this form, which includes the six jars I just mentioned. The others reside in prominent private collections and in the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine. Absolutely incredible! What a find! I didn't want to put the jar down in the store or leave it at the front counter while I continued to look. I was afraid that something may happen to it if I did so - I didn't even bother to ask the women working in the shop if they knew where the jar may have come from or where it was found. When I came across it in the shop, it was mixed in with the kind of material that I would see at a decent thrift short. This is why the hunt is so much fun - because sometimes it does pay-off.

Antiques on Elm - Manchester, NH

Thomas Truxton Kendrick Red Earthenware Jar - Hollis, Me

This is How it Sat in the Store When I Found It

Thomas Truxton Kendrick Red Earthenware Jar - Hollis, Me

This is How it Sat in the Store When I Found It

Ironically, Kendrick has been a subject of a number of reports in recent weeks; if you use the search feature on the homepage to this website you can read more about him. Here are some better pictures of the jar taken in my house. I'm thrilled to have it as part of my collection!!! These jars are so rare today that I never thought I would own one.