EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Rare 19th Century Salt-Glazed Stoneware Object Recently Found in Central Maine that May have Been Used by a Distillery in Charlestown, Massachusetts

Sunday, January 31, 2016

A Rare 19th Century Salt-Glazed Stoneware Object Recently Found in Central Maine that May have Been Used by a Distillery in Charlestown, Massachusetts

According to an article that I wrote for this website on February 20, 2013, "The Henley Distillery opened around 1741 on the waterfront in Charlestown, Massachusetts, near the town's docks. Samuel Henley was the first owner and others proceeded to operate in a similar fashion after Henley at this same location. The distillery burned in the early stages of the American Revolution at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. While many business owners, who lost their companies (many of whom were potters) did not rebuild and instead opted to relocate after Charlestown was torched - the distillery was rebuilt. It has been reported that this business operated as-late-as 1866, manufacturing rum and other alcohols. This was also an area that was excavated by archaeologists in the 1980s during the archaeology of Boston's infamous Big Dig Project. It's a fascinating context since the distillery was built on top of a well-preserved seventeenth century site in Charlestown, which contains some remains from the Phillip Drinker Pottery, which is regarded as New England's first true red earthenware potter's business that dates as-early-as the 1630s."

Yesterday, I visited Christopher Havey, a collector, who currently lives in upstate New York and Gorham, Maine. There were many reasons 'why' I visited - and, among them, was to learn more about the potter's industry, which existed in North Yarmouth, Maine in the nineteenth century. Chris Havey is responsible for salvaging a huge amount of red earthenware sherds from these businesses that currently reside with the North Yarmouth Historical Society and the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine.

Surprisingly, North Yarmouth was truly a potter's industry - an industry, which very-little is known about today; however, it is apparent (to me) that there were many quality products produced in North Yarmouth in the 1800s that can be misattributed today. This belief also supports the idea that there was a lot more made in Maine than what is given credit today. For example, I saw concrete proof yesterday that slip decoration was produced in Maine after 1800. This is an idea that was basically ruled out years ago. In general, the belief has been that slip was not used on Maine.

Among what else I saw yesterday was a rare piece of stoneware that was found by a central Maine picker in Detroit, Maine a few years back. What is it!? It's a cap to a distillery. Honestly, I was fascinated from the moment I saw this object. Chris Havey told me that he showed this rare object to the late-Don Carpentier a few years ago, and Don's natural reaction was that this could have been made in Charlestown, Massachusetts in the early-nineteenth century.

When I was thinking about this object yesterday - it dawned on me that there was a major distillery located in Charlestown, which is the same distillery that I cite above. The Charlestown stoneware potter, Frederick Carpenter successfully operated a thriving business during a period of this distillery's production.

A characteristic that really stood out to me on this object is the use of cobalt decoration that basically covers the entire rim and part of the shoulder. Cobalt was used in Charlestown, but there wasn't a lot used on the traditional everyday forms that survive today.

In theory, this is possibly a special order product that was placed by the distillery through Fredrick Carpenter's Pottery in the nineteenth century. It's absolutely amazing to see something like this, which could posses an enormous amount of history today. It's surprising that it has survived for so many years since it didn't really serve a great utilitarian purpose; although, it is also compelling to try and understand why this object appeared in rural central Maine.

Stoneware Cap to a Distillery