This first object is currently for sale through Sheffield, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Samuel Herrup. This type of object likely first became famous in the New England antiques industry when similar objects sold in the well-documented Chris Huntington sale in the early-1970's. This form has always been said to have been a Maine-made object; although, the coggled-wheel-decoration is rarely seen with Maine-made red earthenware objects today. In-fact, this style of decoration is rarely seen on any New England-made objects today.
The New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire owns a large pot (see below) in its collection that exhibits a nearly-exact type of coggled-wheel-decoration. The museum attributes their crock to the Jeremiah Burpee (1782-1862) Pottery in Boscowan, New Hampshire during the circa 1804-1830 period.
According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "Jeremiah Burpee went to Boscowan, New Hampshire from Epping, New Hampshire as a boy of eleven-years-old. His father was a brickmaker in Epping, and he likely apprenticed with his father.
In 1804, Jeremiah began a brickmaking and pottery business in Boscowan in which he was engaged until his death in 1862.
The regular output of the Burpee Pottery was red earthenware jugs, jars, pans, etc. This statement was corroborated by Mrs. Durgin in the 1930's, whose memory went back many years earlier since she was then ninety-five-years-old. She had once been a teacher in a little school that stood on the north corner of the road opposite the pottery. She distinctly remembered watching Jeremiah's son, James Burpee making redware, and among her possessions were three pans of pie-plate size, one with a yellowish-glaze, that had come from the Burpee kiln.
It is also true that Jeremiah Burpee occasionally incised on his red clay pieces a decoration bearing a slight resemblance to the more skillfully executed coggled designs on imported brown stoneware. A small redware vase with such incised or impressed work was obtained directly from the Burpee family (this vase is owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts today)."
The incised, impressed, or coggled-wheel-decoration that Watkins describes is found on a few objects associated with the Burpee Pottery, which were donated by Watkins to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
This type of decoration is similar to the decoration that is seen on the pitcher attributed to Maine that is shown below. However, a similar decoration is also seen on the pot, which is owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society (also shown below).
Personally, I do not know if there is any connection between these two objects; nonetheless, I feel the comparison seen in the coggled-wheel-decoration is worth mentioning today.
Note: This coggled-wheel-decoration is likely how some European brown stoneware was attributed to the Burpee Pottery in Boscowan in the twentieth-century; however, the Burpee family never manufactured stoneware in New Hampshire. Lura Woodside Watkins describes the attribution as a misunderstanding that happened among collectors in the early-to-mid-1900's, which was inaccurate information that was also published during the same period.
Maine Attributed Red Earthenware Pitcher
19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Maine
Similar Objects Sold in the Chris Huntington Sale in Maine in the Early-1970's
The Coggled-Wheel-Decoration is Comparable to the Pot Shown Below
Circa 1820-1860
Stands 9 1/2" Tall
Photo Courtesy: Samuel Herrup - Sheffield, Mass.
Another View of the Pitcher
Photo Courtesy: Samuel Herrup - Sheffield, Mass.
Boscowan, New Hampshire Attributed Pot
19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Attributed to Jeremiah Burpee Pottery - Boscowan, NH
Notice the Rare Pouring Spout
The Coggled-Wheel-Decoration is Similar to the Pitcher Shown Above
Circa 1804-1862
Stands 10 5/8" Tall
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
View of a Handle and a Closer Look at the Coggled-Wheel-Decoration
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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