The 19th Century New England Red Earthenware Foot Warmer and Hot Water Bottle

Last summer, I visited the collections facility at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Overall, the collection is incredible. The collection spans many different fields in the decorative arts. Naturally, my focus remained with the pottery portion of the collection.

Tonight, I want to focus on a pair of nineteenth-century red earthenware hot water bottles or foot warmers that are a part of the Old Sturbridge Village collection. I believe this is a form that is not normally considered in the realm of nineteenth-century New England-made red earthenware today.

The following photo shows those two red earthenware bottles pictured to the left. They are both colorfully glazed with a finial placed on top of each bottle - a cork is also seen, which was used to seal the hole where the water would have been inserted.

I'm not positive where these bottles were made, but they may be a Massachusetts-made product produced around the mid-nineteenth-century or later.

(Left) Pair of 19th Century Red Earthenware Hot Water Bottles of Foot Warmers

Circa 1840-1880

Stand Approximately 9" to 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, MA

I own a similar hot water bottle that was acquired from a private collection in central Massachusetts last year. Knowing that I had this object at home - I was surprised when I saw the examples at Old Sturbridge Village. You will notice that my bottle is decorated in a similar colorful glaze with a similar finial and a similar placed (corked) hole for the water. 

However, I also want to show the following red earthenware foot warmer (which I also own) that appears to be a copy or an imitation of a nineteenth-century stoneware foot warmer made at the John T. Winslow Pottery in Portland, Maine between 1850 and 1860 (that's the period when most of the stoneware examples date from at the J.T. Winslow Pottery). Most (all?) of the stoneware foot warmers are also marked with J.T. Winslow' name.

I believe the following red earthenware example was made nearby at the Benjamin Dodge, Jr. (1802-1876) Pottery in Portland, Maine around the same period. The form is very-similar, the decoration on the front is similar and it stands ten-inches tall, which is the same height as its stoneware counterpart. 

This is the only red earthenware example in this form that I am aware of today. I purchased it at a John McInnis sale in Amesbury, Massachusetts last summer - it came from a private collection in Kennbunkport, Maine, which is located about forty-miles south of Portland.

(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Foot Warmer

Possibly Made at the Benjamin Dodge, Jr. (1802-1876) Pottery - Portland, ME

Circa 1850-1875

Stands 10" Tall

(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Hot Water Bottle - Possibly Massachusetts

Form is Very-Similar to the Objects Owned by Old Sturbridge Village

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 9 3/4" Tall

View of the Reverse Sides

19th Century John T. Winslow Stoneware Foot Warmer - Portland, ME

Circa 1850-1860

Stands 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: John McInnis Auctions - Amesbury, MA

Another View of the Foot Warmer

Photo Courtesy: John McInnis Auctions - Amesbury, MA

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