For me, personally, it is confusing to see the variety of pottery that is attributed to Gonic today; this type of glaze is found on pottery produced in places, such as Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Maine, Virginia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and elsewhere in the world. This type of spotted glaze alone is really not an attributable characteristic, but it does not mean that spotted glazes were not produced in Gonic. However, there were also a number of glazed objects manufactured in Gonic that did not exhibit any type of spotted glaze; the glazes applied in Gonic were really no different than any other small potter's business located in central or northern New England in the nineteenth century.
According to an article written in 1931 by Frank H. Norton titled, 'The Osborn Pottery in Gonic, New Hampshire,' which was published in 'The Magazine Antiques,' "About 1839 Elijah Osborn moved to Gonic, New Hampshire (from Loudon, New Hampshire) with his son, James Osborn and perhaps another son, John C. Osborn. Presumably the father at once began a pottery, and, with the help of those two sons, carried on the work. Later, James and his brother, John continued the business as partners until about 1875, when they separated. Thereafter, James, with the help of his son, William P. Osborn (see signed jug below), maintained the pottery until about 1885, when machine-made ware caused competition to become severe.
The Osborn family in Gonic made no effort to stimulate wide sales for their wares (it was a small country pottery). The only advertising attempted by the pottery was the dumping of broken scrap in the front yard to indicate to passers-by that a pottery was operating. Save for the few pieces sold on the spot, all of the red earthenware was taken in a wagon and distributed among general stores in the surrounding towns of Rochester, New Hampshire, Dover, New Hampshire, Farmington, New Hampshire, Somersworth, New Hampshire, Berwick, Maine and Barrington, New Hampshire. A medium-sized milk pan brought twenty cents; cups, ten cents; and large jars, forty or fifty cents each."
The Gonic Pottery can be compared to a number of the small potter's businesses located in southern Maine, as well as southern and central New Hampshire in the nineteenth century. The Osborns explored a number of different glazes - and, they experimented with forms, as well, which can be seen below in the variety of jugs that are attributed to Gonic by the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire.
Understandably, the Osborn Pottery in Gonic is given a lot of credit today for objects that they did not create; although, the significance of this business should not be diminished, either. Ultimately, this was a small potter's business that should not really be mistaken for an industry today. A proper attribution to the Gonic Pottery should be developed by just the form, instead of a spotted glaze, which was a glaze produced by potter's all over the world.
Note: The Osborn family name is tied to potter's businesses throughout coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The family also branched out from coastal Massachusetts into New Hampshire in the 1800s, where the Osborn name is also found in places, such as Dover, Loudon, and Boscowan. But it is because of these multiple businesses that it is also difficult to differentiate between the forms made at each business since they appear so similar today. I prefer to attribute this type of red earthenware to the "Osborns in New Hampshire."
I have also posted an old twentieth century article from 'Old Time New England,' which further discusses the importance of the Osborn name in New England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Jugs Reportedly Made at the Osborn Pottery in Gonic, NH
19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug
Circa 1840-1880
Stands 8 7/8" Tall
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug
Circa 1840-1880
Stands 7" Tall
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug
Circa 1840-1880
Stands 6 1/2" Tall
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug Sherd
Based Inscribed 'W.P.O.'
Likely Made by William Osborn in Gonic, NH
Circa 1860-1885
Stands 3 1/8" Tall
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
Based Inscribed 'W.P.O.'
Likely Made by William Osborn
Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH
Jugs Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire
19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in NH
Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire
Form is Very Similar to the First Jug Shown Above Attributed to Gonic, NH
Circa 1840-1880
Stands 9 1/8" Tall
View of the Handle
19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire
Possibly Made in Gonic, NH, Boscowan, NH, Loudon, NH, Dover, NH, Etc.
Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire
Circa 1800-1860
Stands 8 7/8" Tall
View of the Handle
19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire
Possibly Made in Gonic, NH, Boscowan, NH, Loudon, NH, Dover, NH, Etc.
Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire
Jug is Marked on the Front with an Incised 'X'
Circa 1800-1860
Stands 7 7/8" Tall
View of the Incised 'X'
View of the Handle
'The Osborns and Their Redware'
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 49
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 50
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 51
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 52
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
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'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
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'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
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'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
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'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 57
'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article
20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'
Page 58
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
2 comments:
That "Old Time New England" article is a treasure. So much good information was published in that seemingly inconsequential booklet-sized journal. I had stacks of them that disappeared when my idiot sister tried to clean out my house while I was hospitalized years ago. Lost treasures, like the Osborns' home. Wouldn't you love to know where in Massachusetts it was moved to and if it survives?
I would love to know where that home resides today. I once saw a Newbury, Mass. antiques dealer pay a lot of money for huge stack of "Old Time New England" magazines at a Devin Moisan auction in Dover, New Hampshire. A dealer from Portsmouth, NH underbid that dealer.
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