The family had opened a small redware pottery on Fort Edward's East Street in 1884 using clay from a marshy area in the back of the shop to make flowerpots. Here the Hilfingers worked until 1942, a half century after most other stoneware and earthenware kilns in the state had been discontinued. The original four brothers were soon reduced to three by the defection of Theodore, but they carried on.
The remaining brothers called their establishment the Fort Edward Earthenware Pottery...Redware was marked either with a black ink stamp 'HAND MADE / BY / A. HILFINGER / FORT EDWARD, N.Y.' or the impression 'FORT EDWARD, N.Y.' The "A. Hilfinger," of course, refers to Alexander, who was trained at Keene, New Hampshire, and at the Winslow Pottery in Portland, Maine, and who played a major role in the pottery throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." (Potters and Potteries of New York State: 1650-1900, Ketchum, Jr., 1987, Syracuse University Press)
I have previously written about an object that was made at the Hilfinger Pottery in Fort Edward, New York, which I discovered in 2015 inside a small shop in Scarborough, Maine; however, the New York State Museum in Albany, New York also owns a decent sized collection of this company's production that I thought I would show today. Note: I have indicated in the captions below that a very similar object, which is owned by the New York State Museum is comparable to the object that I found in Maine.
Nevertheless, all of the following red earthenware objects represent the type of pottery that could be encountered in today's marketplace; although, any of these objects could also be overlooked since the Hilfinger Pottery is not a well-known business outside of upstate New York. But I also feel this is a significant potter's business that should be better recognized today.
This is an important collection of pottery that is owned by the New York State Museum since it helps define the variety of forms that were produced by the Hilfinger brothers in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. This collection was also acquired in its entirety from a private collector in the late-twentieth-century (There are a group of (what should be) obvious pieces of pottery in these pictures that were not made by the Hilfingers since these objects were not made from red earthenware).
Note: Here is a link to a document that was written by Warren Broderick, where the Hilfinger Pottery is discussed, among other potter's businesses in the Fort Edward, New York area.
Hilfinger Pottery Owned by the New York State Museum
Collection of Red Earthenware Attributed to the Hilfinger Pottery - Fort Edward, NY
Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Collection of Red Earthenware Attributed to the Hilfinger Pottery - Fort Edward, NY
Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Red Earthenware Figure of a Dog Attributed to the Hilfinger Pottery - Fort Edward, NY
Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Large Jar or Vase Possibly Made at the Hilfinger Pottery in Fort Edward, NY
Possibly Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Collection of Red Earthenware Attributed to the Hilfinger Pottery - Fort Edward, NY
Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Collection of Red Earthenware Attributed to the Hilfinger Pottery - Fort Edward, NY
Circa 1884-1942
Photo Courtesy: New York State Museum - Albany, NY
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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