However, there were other instances, where new potters emerged in North Yarmouth, and they purchased an older potter's business. There were also potters, who learned the potter's craft in North Yarmouth before they established their own business elsewhere in Maine.
I recently visited the Yarmouth, Maine Historical Society in order to study a group of red earthenware sherds, which had been recovered years ago in North Yarmouth by Maine antiques collector, Chris Havey. These sherds are currently in the museum's storage facility - but, they brought the collection out of storage when I made an appointment with the historical society, as a result of an article that I plan to write in 2017.
These are a few of the sherds that I studied last week: This green-glaze was seen throughout the collection, and it matches a wonderful green-glaze, which was applied in the southeastern Massachusetts potter's industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. I believe this may be a direct link between the North Yarmouth potter's industry and the coastal Massachusetts potter's industry.
I have also shown a yellow-glazed red earthenware jar, which was purchased a few years ago from a Maine antiques dealer in Brimfield, Massachusetts. The dealer told me that he found the jar in a house in Maine, but he thought it was made on Long Island. I never knew how he developed such an attribution since it does not correspond with what is known about the Long Island potteries today. But I knew it was something special (because of the glaze) so I purchased it. Since that day, I have honestly always wondered if it was a Maine-made product; however, until now, I could never prove it.
Nonetheless, this exact yellow-glaze was found on sherds that I studied, which were recovered in North Yarmouth. The glaze is an identical match. The clay color is also an identical match. This may have been a glaze-color that a potter learned in Exeter, New Hampshire, where a similar color is also known to have been used in the 1800's.
The following pictures also show a similar formed jar that was recently discovered in a house in Hollis, Maine. This jar is also likely a product that was made in North Yarmouth.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to determine the exact potter's business (or businesses), which is responsible for the production of these jars and sherds. I assume there was quite a bit of overlap that happened between the various North Yarmouth potteries.
I also want to include that this is a glaze-style that was manufactured in North Yarmouth in the 1800's, where the exterior of the object is only partially glazed. The lack of a footed base on the following jars is also a characteristic found in North Yarmouth.
Note: All of this research is for an article that I plan to write for publication in 2017; however, I will continue to share information about this relatively forgotten potter's industry today.
A few months ago, there was also a jar that appears to have been made in North Yarmouth that sold at a Skinner onsite sale in Connecticut when Lewis Scranton's Collection was sold (here is a link to that object).
North Yarmouth, Maine Sherds
Sherds Recovered in North Yarmouth, ME
Green-Glaze Matches a Glaze that wade Made in Southeastern Massachusetts
Yellow-Glaze Matches the Glaze on the Jar Below
Photo Courtesy: Yarmouth, Maine Historical Society
North Yarmouth, Maine Jars
(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar
Probably Made in North Yarmouth, Maine
Found a Few Years Ago in a House in Maine
The Glaze-Color Matches a Sherd Shown Above
Circa 1820-1860
Stands 7" Tall
(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar
Probably Made in North Yarmouth, Maine
Recently Found in a House in Hollis, Maine
Circa 1820-1860
Stands 6 3/4" Tall
Another View of the Jars
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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