EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Comparison of Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Products Possibly Made by Captain John Norton in Bennington, Vermont

Thursday, October 15, 2015

A Comparison of Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Products Possibly Made by Captain John Norton in Bennington, Vermont

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' "A number of (19th century) Vermont potteries that are known to have made redware are the very ones that later became most prosperous as stoneware manufactories. Vermont potting history is notable for the fact that it was dominated by a few enterprising families (i.e. Fentons, Farrars and Nortons, but there were others, too).

Pottery manufacture in Vermont began somewhat later than in the (New England) seacoast states and its development was different. Since the Vermonters had easier access to supplies of New Jersey clay brought up the Hudson River to Troy (New York), they turned to stoneware production at the period when country potters in New Hampshire and Maine were still working with local clay (suitable for redware production)."

What I am going to do in the coming days (and, maybe weeks) is focus on the red earthenware that was produced in Vermont in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-centuries. I really feel there is a lot to be learned about this area today. Watkins only briefly touched upon this subject - the lack of transportation in the 1930's and the 1940's may have been a reason why she didn't dive deeper into the subject by the time her book was published in 1950.

The object that I am going to discuss this morning is probably the most iconic example of Vermont-made red earthenware known today. This jug has been highly published over the past one-hundred years. It is attributed to Captain John Norton of Bennington, Vermont fame - and, it is currently owned by the Bennington Museum. It reportedly descended through the Norton family before the museum acquired the jug in the latter years of the nineteenth-century. The jug is decorated on both sides with a similar slip decoration.

I don't plan on discussing in-depth the history of Norton's work, but I will mention that a young Norton traveled from Connecticut in the late-eighteenth-century in search of work elsewhere in New England. He landed in Bennington - ultimately establishing one of the most important industries in New England that came to fruition in the 1800's manufacturing a wide variety of earthenware and stoneware products.

There has been some debate whether this jug was made by Norton, which I can't prove; none-the-less, I feel very-strongly that this jug is an excellent example of Vermont-made red earthenware from around the dawn of the nineteenth-century. I feel the family ownership in the nineteenth-century creates a strong case that it may have been made by Norton, but I can not be one-hundred percent sure of that claim.

A slip decorated product from Vermont is highly rare today. Most of the red earthenware properly attributed to Vermont today is similar to the wares made by country potters elsewhere in New England, where the emphasis was everyday household objects with either basic or colorful glazes. The fact that slip was likely used on red earthenware in Vermont during this early period is fascinating. If Captain Norton is responsible for this product - the use of slip was probably the result of his background in Connecticut, where slip was a popular style of decoration used by eighteenth-century potters in Hartford, Connecticut, New York City & Long Island, possibly New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Although, it should also be noted that the use of slip was also present with potters in coastal Massachusetts and coastal New Hampshire during the same period that Captain Norton resided in Connecticut and also when he traveled to Vermont in the late-1700's.

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jug Likely Made in Vermont

Attributed to Captain John Norton - Bennington, VT
Descended Through the Norton Family of Vermont

Circa 1800

Stands Approximately 5" to 6" Tall

Photo Courtesy: The Bennington Museum - Bennington, VT

Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland recently sold a red earthenware jar that exhibited a related slip decoration; although, this jar was decorated on all four sides. I actually perceive this decoration as a type of flower. The jar ended up selling for just under $2,000.

According to Crocker Farm, "This very rare glazed redware jar with bold slip decoration was possibly made by Captain John Norton in Bennington, Vermont during the late-18th or early-19th century. It is certainly from a New England origin even though the exact state or maker is not currently completely known. However, an important redware jug (shown above) with a similar yellow slip foliate design descended in the Norton family of potters and is attributed to patriarch, Captain John Norton today."

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar Possibly Made in Vermont

Slip Decoration Appears Related to the Jug Shown Above Attributed to Bennington, VT

Circa 1800

Stands 9 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Jar

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Jar

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Jar

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

In consideration of these two objects - I want to show a wonderful and possibly highly-important multi-slip decorated red earthenware jar that I acquired from Cape Cod, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Brian Cullity a few years ago in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Brian told me he acquired this lidded jar privately.

I really want to emphasize that this jar exhibit's a related slip decoration like that seen on the jar and the jug discussed above. This jar is also decorated on all four sides, which is similar to the jar that Crocker Farm sold this past July. The lid is also very-likely original - I don't see any reason why it would not be considered original.

What makes this jar even more special is the fact that it retains a very-old tag on the base. I believe this tag is from a previous owner. I think the tag could date back to the 1950's or the 1960's. It reads, 'Florence B. Dirkinson (or Dickinson) / Benson, Vermont'. For what it matters, Benson is located about seventy-five miles northwest of Bennington. I feel it is really encouraging to see this jar's early ownership in central Vermont.

I would also like to mention that the objects discussed in this article are the only examples that I know of today that are decorated with this type of slip decoration (i.e. private collections and museum collections). There may be others, but I am not aware of them. These appear to be very-rare objects that I feel are Vermont-made.