19th Century Stoneware Decorators - And What Else They May Have Produced

I recently thought to myself, "What else could nineteenth-century stoneware decorators have decorated that did not include stoneware?" Could they have dabbled in paintings? Folk art? Is it possible that they could have created a family memento? I feel the possibilities are endless.

I kind of reflected upon this idea a few weeks ago while visiting the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. I was there to see the museum's western New York red earthenware collection, as-well-as Adam Weitsman's renowned stoneware collection, which was made up of many 'once-in-a-lifetime' objects from eighteenth and nineteenth-century potters in New York City, upstate New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The quality of the stoneware really spoke to me - there were so many objects, where the hand-drawn cobalt decoration was so well done that it only seemed natural to ponder the idea of "What else could these decorators have created in their lifetime?" Do I think this idea is a stretch? In some ways, "Yes," but there are other instances, where this could easily be the truth. Why couldn't they have extended their artistic ability into other fields, and possibly even have created family driven objects for everyday household living?

The cobalt decorated stoneware from the Burger Pottery in Rochester, New York is probably my favorite from any decorated stoneware made in America in the nineteenth-century. Although, there were likely equally talented decorators, as well, who were employed in Bennington, Vermont, Albany, New York, Fort Edwards, New York, Rochester, New York, Buffalo, New York, and Lyons, New York (to name a few). However, there was also a lot of decorated stoneware made in America in the 1800's that crosses the line into the world of folk art today.

Decorating stoneware is a skill in itself, but why could that skill not have been used elsewhere, as well. Undoubtedly, many of the decorators definitely had the skill that would have given them the opportunity to create objects, which would have been viewed as folk art today. But I would not be surprised, either if some of the more accomplished decorators could have also become a formal artist painting portraits or even basic landscapes.

Thoughts?

19th Century John Burger Pottery Stoneware Cooler - Rochester, New York

Circa 1860

Stands 15" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

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

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Colander that Recently Appeared in Vermont

An auction catalog that I have always admired was published a few years ago by Crocker Farm for the William Kelly Young sale, which took place in Maryland on January 30, 2010. The Fort Worth,Texas collection was a diverse selection of folk pottery, which basically spanned every major nineteenth-century American potter's region with a wide selection of hand-picked red earthenware and stoneware.

'Antiques and the Arts Weekly' recapped the sale, "The stoneware and redware pottery collection of William Kelly Young attracted serious attention as it crossed the auction block.

An unusual assortment of pottery, the 300 lots from Young's collection featured wares from around the entire country, including whimsical stoneware jugs from Texas, a selection of Ohio crockery, a collection of North Carolina stoneware and redware, colorful pieces from the Shenandoah Valley, as well as the usual assortment of wares from the Northeast. 

Young began his collection in the mid-1980's and was said to have been a familiar sight at antique shows and auctions, easily identifiable by his Western garb, from his cowboy hat all the way down to his boots.

A friend, recently sent me photographs of a nineteenth-century red earthenware colander that appeared in southern Vermont. Instantly, the decoration reminded me of a red earthenware jug in William Kelly Young's collection, which may have been manufactured in either western New York or Ontario.

According to Crocker Farm, "This rare mid-19th century redware jug with copper spot decoration was probably made in the northeastern United States. The columns of green copper dots were applied over a mustard-colored glaze."

This is a very unusual decoration. The only other objects that I am familiar with today, which may be related are a jug that I purchased from a private Annapolis, Maryland collection, and a miniature butter churn, which was published in 1991 in William Ketchum, Jr.s book, 'American Redware." Ketchum suggested that the churn may have been made in the mid-nineteenth-century in either New England or western New York; however, I do not believe it is a New England-made object.

Red Earthenware Jug

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Northeastern, United States
Possibly Made in Western New York or Ontario

Ex-William Kelly Young Collection - Fort Worth, Texas

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 8 1/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Red Earthenware Colander

19th Century Red Earthenware Colander with a Spectacular Green Glaze

Possibly Made in Western New York or Ontario

Recently Found in Vermont

Circa 1840-1880

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

Interior of the Colander

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

Another View of the Interior of the Colander

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

View of One Handle

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

View of the Other Handle

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

Another View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Vermont Antiques Dealer

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

19th Century Stoneware from Portland, Maine Discovered on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

There is currently an ongoing archaeology dig happening at the Old North Church in Boston, which began earlier this summer, and it is scheduled to continue into the fall. The dig is taking place on a nineteenth-century site on the church's property, where two tenement foundations, two privies and a cistern have been discovered. The circa 1830-1880 privies have yielded a large collection of mid-nineteenth-century transfer-decorated ceramics from England, a variety of utilitarian glass bottles and many other artifacts.

An aspect of the dig that I have found interesting is the discovery of an intact late-nineteenth-century sewer or drain tile system, and much of which was made at the Portland Stone Ware Company in Portland, Maine. The Portland Stone Ware Company is also one of the few nineteenth-century utilitarian potter's businesses in New England, which still operates today.

According to the company's website, "Portland Stone Ware Co., Inc. has been a family owned and operated business dating back to its inception in 1847. There have been two families at the helm, the Winslow family (1847) and now the Schuler family (1970). 

Portland Stone Ware was founded by J.T. Winslow, who started out making pottery, clay jugs and pots for food storage. Under the direction of his son, Edward B. Winslow, Portland Stone Ware developed into one of the largest manufacturers of vitrified salt-glazed sewer pipe and firebrick on the east coast.

Edward B. Winslow

Photo Courtesy: Portland Stone Ware Company

The once large factory was located at the salt marsh in Back Cove, Deering Point on 253 Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine. It had excellent facilities for shipping and receiving via the shipping channel through Back Cove. 

At high tide, sailing vessels of 1,500 tons could easily come up to the large wharf delivering raw goods and transporting finished goods. It also had two rails connecting it to Boston and Maine. 

A sales office was located at 42 Oliver Street, Boston in early 1900, eventually moving to 177 Pemberton Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1959.

The Federal government took the property in Portland by eminent domain in 1970 for the purpose of constructing Interstate 295, which closed the Portland facility."

Interestingly, the Essex County, Massachusetts red earthenware potter, Charles A. Lawrence also acted  as a wholesale dealer in sewer pipe for the Portland Stone Ware Company in Beverly, Massachusetts in the 1890's and early-twentieth-century. It has been reported that the C.A. Lawrence Pottery became a successful commercial enterprise after 1887, which was likely indicative for how the Industrial Revolution had influenced Lawrence, and his business, which began as a small red earthenware company in the mid-1860's.

An advertisement from the 1890's describes this relationship, "...ALSO AGENT FOR THE / Portland Sewer Pipe and Fire Brick, / acknowledged by all, and proved by actual test, to be the best / pipe in the market."

It is not clear if the Old North Church's pipe came from a retail dealer in Boston (and whether that dealer could have acquired their material as a wholesale order in Beverly) or somewhere else, but it appears that there may have been two different sewer or drain tile company's products used to lay the pipe system in the late-1800's.

There is a connecting pipe that clearly displays the "PORTLAND STONE WARE" mark; however, there is another illegible mark that may also have been used in Portland, but it may have been from another New England company, as well.

Old North Church Archaeology Dig

Archaeology Dig at the Old North Church in Boston

Archaeology Dig at the Old North Church in Boston

Archaeology Dig at the Old North Church in Boston

Archaeology Dig at the Old North Church in Boston

Archaeology Dig at the Old North Church in Boston

Sewer Tile at the Old North Church in Boston

Late-19th Century Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

Marked 'Portland Stone Ware'

Another Maker's Mark on the Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe at the Old North Church in Boston

This Mark Appears Illegible 

Late-19th Century Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

Late-19th Century Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

Late-19th Century Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

Late-19th Century Sewer Tile or Drain Pipe on the Property of the Old North Church in Boston

Charles A. Lawrence Pottery Advertising

C.A. Lawrence Pottery Advertising Portland Sewer Pipe in the 1890's

Photo Courtesy: North Shore of Massachusetts Bay, Hill & Nevins, 2008

Another View of the 1890's Advertisment

Photo Courtesy: North Shore of Massachusetts Bay, Hill & Nevins, 2008

C.A. Lawrence Pottery Advertising "Sewer Pipe" in 1903

Photo Courtesy: 1903 Beverly, Mass. City Directory

Workers at the Portland Stone Ware Company were also known to have used some of the connecting sewer tile pipes, and converted them into umbrella stands. Afterwards, the stands were often hand painted. This was also done by nineteenth and twentieth-century sewer tile workers at companies in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, the Midwest and in the south. 

The following two stands are examples of umbrella stands that were made in Portland; the first example is an umbrella stand, which is owned by my parents, and the second example is owned by the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine.

Portland Stone Ware Company Umbrella Stands

My Nephew, Jason A Few Years Ago with the Umbrella Stand

19th Century Portland Stone Ware Company Hand Painted End-of-the-Day Umbrella Stand

Circa 1867-1890

Stands 25 1/2" Tall

View of the Mark 'Portland Salt Glazed Pipe'

19th Century Portland Stone Ware Company Hand Painted End-of-the-Day Umbrella Stand

Circa 1867-1890

Photo Courtesy: Maine State Museum - Augusta, ME

Another View of the Hand Painted Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Maine State Museum - Augusta, ME

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

An 18th Century Jar Discovered at an Estate Sale in Beverly, Massachusetts that May Be From a Spanish Origin

I have shown this jar before, but I want to reopen its discussion. This jar's form appears Chinese, but I believe it could also be an Iberian storage jar from Europe made in the eighteenth-century. I have seen various forms of Iberian storage jars recovered in eighteenth-century archaeological contexts in New England that include various locations along coastal Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Salem, Massachusetts, Charlestown, Massachusetts, Boston, Plymouth, Massachusetts, etc.

According to the Plymouth Archaeology Rediscovery Project, "Iberian storage jars, also called Spanish Olive Jars, are one of the most widely occurring Spanish ceramic to be found in the New World having been used by the French, English and Spanish. 

These vessels were used to transport material, such as wine, olive oil, olives and fish.

Generally, Iberian storage jars were globular with either a round or pointed bottom. Iberian storage jars have been recovered in New England as-early-as a seventeenth-century context in places like Augusta, Maine from a circa 1628-1676 archaeological context at the Plymouth Colony trading house."

The following jar's history is unknown; although, I found it last year at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Massachusetts. The dealer told me that he had just discovered it at an estate sale at Beverly Farms in Beverly, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the dealer did not know any information about the jar.

This jar was likely originally manufactured for a specific transportation purpose; although, I could easily see it being re-purposed afterwards for another household use, as well.

18th Century Jar that Appears Like a Chinese Form

But It Could be an Iberian Storage Jar from Europe

Reportedly Discovered at an Estate Sale in Beverly, Mass. in 2015

I Found it at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Mass. in 2015

Stands 9 1/2" Tall

View of the Base

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

A 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Jug Found Last Year in Laconia, New Hampshire

This short article expands upon the previous article that I also posted today - I wanted to show this nineteenth-century miniature red earthenware jug that I discovered almost one-year ago in Laconia, New Hampshire. Presumably, the size of this jug could not have served many utilitarian needs. Although I did discover it with a small red earthenware jar that was possibly made at the Abner S. Wight Pottery in West Sterling, Massachusetts, circa 1860.

However, if you look closely at this jug's unusual glaze you should be able to notice that it resembles the glaze found on the red earthenware creamer or pitcher that I previously wrote about today. The jug's base is also glazed as is the creamer or pitcher's base - and, the manufacture of the handles are also similar.

Note: Both of these objects are black-glazed, but the following photographs show what happened to the appearance of the glazes when a camera flash is used.

 (Left) Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Creamer or Pitcher

Likely Made in Massachusetts

Stands 3 5/8" Tall

(Right) 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Jug

Found Last Year in Laconia, NH

Stands 2 1/2" Tall

 View of the Bases

View of the Handles

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

A Recently Discovered 19th Century Black-Glazed Creamer or Pitcher Found in Central New Hampshire

On my way home from Antiques Week in New Hampshire a few weeks ago, I found a nineteenth-century black glazed red earthenware creamer or pitcher in a small shop in central New Hampshire. The dealer told me it was also found in New Hampshire.

I was immediately drawn to the glaze and the form of this object. But the manufacture of this object also reminded me of red earthenware teapots, which are often attributed to the Thomas Crafts Pottery in Whately, Massachusetts today. The creamer or pitcher's inverted base along with the placement of kiln furniture that can been seen from the scar marks, which were left, also reminded me of Crafts Pottery teapots that I have seen at places like Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, various private collections and at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

In-hand, this creamer or pitcher appears entirely black-glazed; however, the following photographs show how the glaze alters itself with a camera flash.

Interestingly, I have also included photographs of a black-glazed red earthenware teapot owned by the University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department, which is possibly tied to the Thomas Crafts Pottery. The glaze on this object also appears different with a camera flash. The teapot was excavated in an early-nineteenth-century context on Castle Island in South Boston, Massachusetts.

The big difference between the following two objects are the handles, where the teapot's handle appears like it was press-molded, and the creamer or pitcher's handle was pulled by hand.

Nevertheless, I believe this is a rare creamer or pitcher that was possibly made in Massachusetts before 1840. It makes me wonder if there were other potters in New England, who were producing teapots in this style besides the few names that are known today.

Note: I did not photograph the base of the teapot; although, it is very similar to how the base was manufactured on the creamer or pitcher. This creamer or pitcher is also the right size for similar objects that would have been used for coffee and tea.

Creamer or Pitcher Found in Central New Hampshire

 Early-19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Creamer or Pitcher

Likely Made in Massachusetts

Recently Found in Central New Hampshire

Stands 3 5/8" Tall

 View of the Pouring Spout

 View of the Handle

Another View of the Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

Teapot Found in South Boston, Mass.

Early-19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Teapot

Likely Made in Massachusetts

Uncovered at Castle Island in South Boston, Mass.

 Photo Courtesy: University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department

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

A 19th Century Toy Red Earthenware Bird Whistle Discovered Earlier this Year in Western New York

This article is an extension from the article that was also posted today, which discussed Charles A. Mehwaldt (1808-1897), who was an important German migrant red earthenware potter located in the Niagara Falls region in New York.

According to an article written by Ada Walker Camehl in September 1922 for 'The Magazine Antiques,' called 'Mehwaldt, a Pioneer American Potter,' "Mehwaldt produced quantities of chimney crocks, red earthenware crocks of all sizes, butter-crocks with handles to be hung in wells to keep butter cool; cooking utensils, candlesticks, all manners of tableware - platters, plates, sauce-dishes, cups and saucers, mugs, pitchers, sugar bowls, vegetable dishes, teapots and teakettles. He also produced finer products like inkstands and tile stoves.

At Christmas-time, he usually turned out many little dinner-sets for children, and toys made in the form of pigs, owls, roosters, and birds with whistles in their tails. When these figures were filled with water the whistles gave out a variety of tones."

Earlier this summer, I vacationed in upstate New York with my nephew, Jason, and we visited a few antique shops in our travels. We discovered the following nineteenth-century dark-brown glazed red earthenware rooster whistle in a huge group antique shop in Farmington, New York. Initially, I had suggested that this bird could have been manufactured in either western New York or Ontario.

It appears (to me) that the manufacture of this object may compare with the toy rooster (and animal) whistles, which Mehwaldt reportedly manufactured for children during Christmas-time before 1887.

I can only imagine that there must be some of this whimsical production, which survives from Mehwaldt today. However, I wonder how much of it could be inaccurately attributed to Pennsylvania today, where there was a much larger production of related whimsical or 'end-of-the-day' objects.

 19th Century Dark Brown-Glazed Red Earthenware Rooster Whistle

Possibly Made by Charles A. Mehwaldt - Bergholz, NY

Found in an Antique Shop in Farmington, NY

Circa 1860-1890

Stands 3 1/4" Tall

 Another View of the Rooster Whistle

Rooster with a Whistle in its Tail 

 Another View of the Rooster

View of the Base

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

Charles A. Mehwaldt: An Important 19th Century Potter From the Niagara Falls Region in New York

According to an article written by Ada Walker Camehl in September 1922 for The Magazine Antiques, titled, Mehwaldt, a Pioneer American Potter,'"In 1808, in Bruessow, a German village near Berlin, was born Charles August Mehwaldt. He came from a line of potters; for his father and his grandfather before him had spent their lives at the potter's wheel. After he had learned the trade, young Mehwaldt, as was the custom of the country, passed several years as a journeyman potter in search of experience taking him to Russia and into the Holy Land. On his return to his home, he found the country in a state of political unrest. Greater liberties were being demanded by the people while free America, beckoning across the sea with an alluring hand, was welcoming many citizens of all classes to voluntary exile.

In 1844, a man of wealth, Williams by name, gathered together several families from the neighborhood of Bruessow and brought the little band to the United States. They purchased a piece of land in western New York, on the Niagara frontier, cleared the timber and built a hamlet of log houses.

Fired by the glowing accounts which came back to the Fatherland from this transplanted colony, a second company came together, in 1851, to follow the first. Among this group were the potter Mehwaldt, his wife and their five children.

Mehwaldt bought a log house, two acres of land and set up his pot works in Bergholtz, New York. His outfit was of the most primitive description: a small brick oven in his back yard for firing the clay, and a wooden kick wheel. These, with his hands and his Old-World training, were all his capital, and here he worked alone at his trade until he died in 1887.

As the Civil War drew near, Mehwaldt's sons were swept away with enthusiasm for their adopted country. Finally, the three boys ran away, and enlisted in the northern army. Two of them met death on southern battlefields. As a memorial to his dead soldier boys, the potter made two wreaths of clay flowers to hang upon the walls of the local church. With them hung the photographs and the war records of his boys.

Mehwaldt produced quantities of chimney crocks, red earthenware crocks of all sizes, butter-crocks with handles to be hung in wells to keep butter cool; cooking utensils, candlesticks, all manners of tableware - platters, plates, sauce-dishes, cups and saucers, mugs, pitchers, sugar bowls, vegetable dishes, teapots and teakettles. He also produced finer products like inkstands and tile stoves.

At Christmas-time, he usually turned out many little dinner-sets for children, and toys made in the form of pigs, owls, roosters, and birds with whistles in their tails."

Earlier this year, I visited a prominent longtime red earthenware collection in Western New York, which included a number of examples of pottery made by Charles A. Mehwaldt. I learned that Mehwaldt often inscribed objects with a number on the base, but he also inscribed jars on the body (see example below). However, this is not a style that is exclusive to Mehwaldt, seeing that I have seen potters in New England also use this technique.

Below I have shown a collection of pottery that is attributed to Mehwaldt, which is owned by the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. Unquestionably, I have seen similar objects, which are sometimes attributed to Pennsylvania today. Although, I could also see this type of red earthenware attributed to Ontario since it is expected that some of Mehwaldt's work must have crossed the American-Canadian border in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries.

Charles Mehwaldt Attributed Pottery Owned by the New York State Museum

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Circa 1851-1887

Stands Approximately 8" Tall
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Circa 1851-1887

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY
Inscribed "...Bergholz 1883"

Notice the Unusual Handles

Circa 1883

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

View of the Partial Inscription

Reads "...Bergholz 1883"

Notice the Unusual Handles

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY  

19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Notice the Unusual Handle(s)

Circa 1883

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Missing Its Lid

Circa 1851-1887

Stands Approximately 8" Tall
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Missing Its Lid

Circa 1851-1887

Stands Approximately 8" Tall
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY 

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholtz, NY

Missing Its Lid

Circa 1851-1887

Stands Approximately 6" Tall
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY

Jar with an Inscribed Number

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Likely Made by Charles Mehwaldt - Bergholz, NY

The Number on the Exterior of the Pot is a Characteristic that was Used at the Mehwaldt Pottery

However, This Use of an Inscribed Number was also Applied by Other American Potters, Too

Jar Reportedly Found in Southeastern Michigan

Circa 1851-1887

Stands 11 3/4" Tall

See Article for More Information

 View of the Incised Number "30"
See Article for More Information

 Another View of the Jar
See Article for More Information

  View of the Interior
See Article for More Information

View of the Base
See Article for More Information

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