According to an article written by the American Folk Art Museum in New York City in 2002, "There was a saying, 'There's no mud like West Hartford mud.' Its gluey clay stuck fast to boots, shoes and stockings. West Hartford's first settler, Stephen Hosmer, complained about the knee deep mire (stretch of swampy or boggy ground). Hosmer settled in the West Division, as it was then called, in the year 1679. His observation about the characteristic quality of this abundant local resource, though an annoyance to some, was surely recognized and capitalized upon. This led to the establishment of at least two potteries in the late eighteenth century. This is a significant number considering the small geographic area (22.2 square miles) that is West Hartford. Ebenezer Faxon established the first (known) pottery in the area, on the south road, in the year 1770. Faxon was followed by Nathaniel Seymour, who built his kiln about 1790, at the intersection of Park Street and Quaker Lane, on the southeast corner. It appears that Seymour himself recognized the opportunity as well as the quality of the local clay, and held it in high regard. Seymour was thoroughly convinced that from Connecticut clays alone pottery could be made as good as anywhere in the world."
Seymour's pottery is highly-prized today among private collectors and museums with the most sought after examples decorated with brushed slip and copper oxide that causes green dots in the glaze. Such objects have been known to sell well into the thousands of dollars privately and at public auctions. The highest known example of Seymour Pottery to sell at auction to date is a pitcher that sold together with a nineteenth-century New Hampshire-made red earthenware jug for $15,000 at Sotheby's in New York City in January of 2014; although, the example that is owned by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford is still (in my opinion) the finest known object in form and glaze associated with Seymour's production known today. It's really a monumental sized pitcher that stands over twelve-inches tall.
Late 18th or Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Pitcher Made at the Seymour Pottery in Hartford, CT
Circa 1800
Stands 12 1/2" Tall
Pictured in Lura Woodside Watkins Book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares'
Photo Courtesy: Dr. Mark Chaplin
Another View of the Seymour Pitcher
Photo Courtesy: Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT
(Left) New Hampshire Made Red Earthenware Jug
Circa 1820-1840
Stands 12 3/4" Tall
(Right) Seymour Pottery Red Earthenware Pitcher - Hartford, CT
The Rim has Been Ground Down
Circa 1790-1820
Stands 6 3/8" Tall
Together they Sold for $15,000 in January of 2014
Photo Courtesy: Sotheby's - New York City
The Connecticut Historic Society in Hartford owns a slip decorated red earthenware pitcher that in form resembles the type of products made at the Seymour Pottery; however, the manner in which the slip decoration was applied is completely different from the expected wares made by Nathaniel Seymour.
The museum identifies the pitcher as a product made in the 1780-1820 period, but no more information related to the pitcher's provenance or origin is provided.
Personally, I do believe this pitcher is a Connecticut-made object from the museum's suggested period of production, but it is difficult to say whether it was made in West Hartford or elsewhere in the state. If it is a Seymour Pottery product - then, it would identify another decorative style that is not identified with Nathaniel Seymour's output today. From what is known today - I expect this pitcher is the work of another Connecticut potter, but you never know. Unfortunately, I don't believe there are many salvaged sherds from the Seymour Pottery site that have survived today.
Personally, I do believe this pitcher is a Connecticut-made object from the museum's suggested period of production, but it is difficult to say whether it was made in West Hartford or elsewhere in the state. If it is a Seymour Pottery product - then, it would identify another decorative style that is not identified with Nathaniel Seymour's output today. From what is known today - I expect this pitcher is the work of another Connecticut potter, but you never know. Unfortunately, I don't believe there are many salvaged sherds from the Seymour Pottery site that have survived today.
19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pitcher Likely Produced in Connecticut
Possibly Produced in West Hartford, CT
Circa 1780-1820
Stands 9 1/4" Tall
Photo Courtesy: Connecticut Historical Society - Hartford, CT
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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