The Wonderful and Important Harbinson Collection of Folk Pottery Owned by the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec

The following citation was drawn from Donald Webster's book, 'Early Canadian Pottery' when it was used as an introduction to a report that I wrote last week that focused on an important red earthenware jar that is currently owned by the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario; however, I would like to rehash this information again for the purpose of today's report; "The majority of the earthenware potters active in Ontario (in the 1800's) were of a Pennsylvania-German origin - (they) often descended from Mennonite loyalists, or Germans who emigrated from Europe in the 1840's and the 1850's, with smaller numbers of Anglo-Americans, English and Scots. Many of these people, and particularly the Pennsylvania-Germans who had been emigrating to upper Canada since the 1780's, sometimes had generations of the potting craft behind them."

Webster continued by writing, "Pennsylvania potters in the eighteenth-century, many of whose progeny late immigrated to Ontario, had produced elaborate slip and sgraffito-decorated wares in an old-world Germanic tradition. Increasing travel, migration, and consequent environmental blending of people in the nineteenth-century, however, eroded the earlier ethnic distinctions of the Germanic pottery.

The influence of the English and Anglo-American potters in Ontario generally was more centered in urban rather than rural areas, and these potter-entrepreneurs were also somewhat more industrially oriented than the Germanic earthenware craft potters. The Toronto (Ontario) area, for example, was dominated by English and American potters.

Census figures for Ontario show a steadily increasing number of active pottery establishments until 1880. Ontario in 1851 had approximately thirty potteries, and sixty-six people who listed their occupation as "potter." In 1861 there were some forty potteries and eighty-six potters. By 1871, 166 potters worked in fifty-eight potteries, and the census in 1881 recorded seventy-two potteries employing 182 potters."

The majority of the following red earthenware appears to demonstrate the kind of German influence that was found on utilitarian pottery produced in Ontario in the 1800's. It is certainly possible that some of these objects may even be mistaken for wares made in Pennsylvania today; although, there are also similarities that can be shared with nineteenth-century potters like Anthony Baecher in Winchester, Virgina, the potters in Thurmont, Maryland - and, even the Pennsylvania-German potters, who remained in Pennsylvania in the 1800's. 

The wares shown below really demonstrate the kind of folk art that was included in Ontario's potter's industry, aside from the more traditional everyday household objects that were produced on a more regular basis. The rarer objects shown below include a pair of sugar bowls, a picture frame and a storage container (to name a few), many of which, were adorned in slip decoration.

Also, according to Webster, "Slip decorating or slip coating was very common on all Canadian pottery, and consisted of nothing more than a decoration or covering with a liquid clay of contrasting color to the body of the pottery itself."

All of the following products are owned by the Canadian Museum of History in Gaineau, Quebec. Each piece was purchased by the museum in 2007 from John and Heather Harbinson. The museum considers these objects as "the finest of its kind." 

According to the Harbinsons, "Canada's material history reflects the origins and richness of its earliest settlements. Our objective, as collectors, was to select pieces that could bring Canada's material history to life and illuminate our roots as a country."

Furthermore, the museum described this important collection of Ontario-made red earthenware, "The Ontario earthenware includes a cross-section of examples from the 1800's, ranging from everyday utensils to one-of-a-kind pieces made to mark special occasions. Most earthenware was produced in small potteries by hand, with clay sourced locally, and sold into the immediate community. Over one hundred years later, the use and design of some items have remained essentially unchanged, while the purpose of others has passed into history."

These are the objects that I have chosen to share from the Harbinson Collection. There is more to this collection that can be found by searching the keyword 'earthenware' on the Canadian Museum of History's website. I think you'll be more-than impressed with this selection of pottery - I know I am!

SUGAR BOWLS

19th Century Red Earthenware Sugar Bowl Likely Made in Southwestern Ontario

 Circa Mid-to-Late 1800's

Stands 5 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

 Another View of the Sugar Bowl

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of the Dog Finial on Top of the Sugar Bowl

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

 19th Century Red Earthenware Sugar Bowl Likely Made in Ontario

 Circa Mid-to-Late 1800's

Stands 7 1/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of the Lion Finial on Top of the Sugar Bowl

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

PICTURE FRAME

 19th Century Red Earthenware Picture Frame Made by Jacob Weber in Huron County, ON

 The Frame is Dated, 'December 15, 1871'

Stands 7 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

The Back of the Frame is Signed and Dated by the Potter

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

HARVEST RINGS

 19th Century Red Earthenware Harvest Ring Made by John Elliot Near Cornwall Ontario
John Elliot was a Migrant Irish Potter
Havest Ring is Dated May 8, 1846

 Stands 11 1/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Harvest Ring

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of Some of the Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

 19th Century Red Earthenware Harvest Ring Made by the Brownscombe Family in Ontario
Made in Bruce County, ON
Circa 1870-1880

 Stands 14 7/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of Some of the Decoration
Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

FLASK

 19th Century Sgraffito-Decorated Red Earthenware Flask

Reportedly Found in a House in Markham, Ontario in 1979

Circa: Most of the Contents in the House Dates from the Early-1800's

Stands 6 1/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

 Another View of the Flask

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Flask

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

PUZZLE JUG

19th Century Red Earthenware Harvest Ring Made by the Brownscombe Family in Ontario
Made in Bruce County, ON
Circa 1860

 Stands 6 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Puzzle Jug
Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

COLANDER 

19th Century Red Earthenware Harvest Ring Made by Adam Bierenstihl in Ontario
Made in Waterloo County, ON
Circa After 1850

 Stands 5 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

CANDLE HOLDER

19th Century Red Earthenware Candle Holder Made in Waterloo County, ON
Circa After 1850

 Stands 3 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

WHIMSICAL STORAGE CONTAINER

 19th Century Red Earthenware Storage Container Made in Wellington County, ON

Circa 1860-1910

 Stands 2 7/8" Tall
Measures 6 7/8" Long

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Storage Container

 Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of the Dog on the Storage Container

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

SALT CELLAR

19th Century Red Earthenware Harvest Ring Made by Adam Bierenstihl in Ontario
Made in Waterloo County, ON
Circa After 1875

 Stands 6 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Salt Cellar

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

MOLDED DISH

 19th Century Red Earthenware Molded Dish Made by Garnet & Davis in Toronto, Ontario

Circa 1845

 Measures 8 7/8" Long

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

View of the Garnet & Davis Stamp on the Back of the Dish

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

GREASE LAMPS

 19th Century Red Earthenware Grease Lamps Made in the Niagara Region of Ontaro

Circa Early-to-Mid 1800's

 Each Stands Roughly 6 1/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

Another View of the Grease Lamps

Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History - Gatineau, Quebec

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