A Hound-Handled Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered in Wiscasset, Maine Last Summer

The hound-handled pitcher was made popular in America by potters who worked in places like Vermont, New Jersey, New York City and Ohio in the nineteenth-century. The majority of the products from this kind of output, which are found in today's marketplace are usually made of earthenware; however, there are rare examples that were also made from red earthenware and stoneware. Many of the pitchers that I am referencing are decorated with a molded hunt scene on the pitcher's body, but there are also other variations of design that even include the famed, Toby pitcher. It's also a product style that the potteries in Bennington, Vermont and a number of factories in New Jersey and Ohio became famous for that included Rockingham glazed wares produced in the 1800's.

The origin of Rockingham glazed products dates to the eighteenth-century in England; for more information on this subject - I suggest a report written by Arthur F. Goldberg that was published in the 2003 edition of Ceramics in America.

To begin this report - I want to show a few examples from this kind of American-made production taken from recent auction results and museums from across the county. Afterwards, a hound-handled pitcher will resurface from a previous story that I discovered in an antique shop in Wiscasset, Maine last summer.

19th Century Hound-Handled Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Bennington, VT

Stands 11 1/2" Tall

Ca. 1852-1894

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England - Boston, MA

19th Century Hound-Handled Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Jersey City, NJ

Stands 13 1/8" Tall

Ca. 1838-1850

Photo Courtesy: Northeast Auctions - Portsmouth, NH

Rare Hound-Handled Stoneware Toby Pitcher Possibly Made in the Northeast (Possibly NJ)

Stands 6" Tall

Ca. Probably 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm, Inc. - Sparks, MD

19th Century Hound-Handled Pitcher Made in Tiltonville, OH

Stands 11 1/2" Tall

Ca. 1850-1870

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England - Boston, MA

The previous few examples probably give you a good idea of the kinds of hound-handled wares that were made in America in the 1800's. There really aren't a lot of red earthenware (or even stoneware) examples known today - most are manufactured from the types of clay seen above.

When I visited Wiscasset, Maine last summer - I stopped at a shop called, Avalon Antiques Market, which is an active dealer shop along Route 1 a few miles south of the downtown area. Previously, I had never visited this shop before. Out of curiosity, I browsed around the dealer's booths on all three-floors. I was rather surprised to come across a red earthenware hound-handled pitcher with no glaze. Unlike many of these products today - I was surprised with the decoration since it did not bear any kind of hunt scene. Rather, it was decorated with what I perceive is a cherub and another person sitting on a branch or a rock. Both sides of the pitcher are decorated with the same scene. Around the top of the pitcher and across the front is what I see as molded fruits, leaves and vines. It is also decorated with an exaggerated rounded footed base, which is not usually seen on these kinds of products. This kind of base is seen on some of the red earthenware molded pitchers made in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in the late-nineteenth-century; however, I do not think there is any kind of relationship - I feel it is only a coincidence. 

What's especially fascinating about this pitcher is the base is marked with what I interpret as a large snowflake stamp. I've heard rumors that some of Maine's potters experimented with molded wares in the nineteenth-century, but I have never seen an example or have I ever been able to prove this kind of production true with Maine's businesses. I've researched the use of a snowflake stamp in places all-over America and even Canada since I first discovered this piece - and I have never been able to determine its use outside of the businesses that were run by the Safford family in Monmouth, Maine in the nineteenth-century. The use of a snowflake stamp is seen on some of the more prominent products made in Monmouth like colorful pots and jars - unfortunately, the snowflake stamp seen on those wares is a lot smaller than what is seen on this pitcher. For now, it's the only connection that I have been able to make with the large snowflake-type stamp seen on the following red earthenware hound-handled pitcher. I will admit that I do wonder if it is a Maine-made product.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Hound-Handled Pitcher
Found in Wiscasset, ME in Summer of 2014

Decorated with What I See is a Cherub and Another Person Sitting on a Rock or a Branch

Also Decorated with Fruit, Vines and Leaves Along the Top

Stands 10" Tall

 The Other Side of the Pitcher with the Same Decoration

 Front of the Pitcher Decorated with Molded Fruits, Leaves and Vines

View of the Base Marked with the Snowflake-Type Stamp

For what it matters - I was told the pitcher was found in a house north of Wiscasset, but no further information could be given.

This is an example of the snowflake stamp used at the Safford Pottery in Monmouth, Maine in the nineteenth-century.

Safford Pottery Doubled-Handled Lidded Red Earthenware Jar - Monmouth, ME
Ca. 1820-1860

The Front is Stamped with Snowflakes

Photo Courtesy: Maine State Museum - Augusta, ME

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