Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins devoted an entire chapter to this business in her book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares;' whereas, she visited the Bayley property in the 1930s when a team of construction workers were demolishing the site for a highway underpass that still travels directly through Newburyport today. The construction crews granted her permission to collect as many artifacts as she could, which have since been donated to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Last week, I visited the National Museum of American History to study the museum's red earthenware, stoneware and archaeology collections, and there is actually a lot of material that relates to the Bayley Pottery in Newburyport.
Red earthenware bowls appear to have been a regular form of output at this business; however, I was rather surprised last Friday to see the remains of a bowl, which closely resembled a style of bowl that was regularly produced in Philadelphia in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, circa 1770-1815.
Interestingly, Watkins wrote in 1950 that there was a lawsuit filed by John Thomas (1754-1843), a Newburyport potter, who was related to Daniel Bayley; although, Thomas did not live his entire life in Newburyport. The court files from the 1780s indicate Thomas brought a lawsuit against Joseph Wilson from Providence, Rhode Island, whom I wrote about earlier today. According to Watkins, "It would appear that Thomas worked for Wilson and was trying to recover lost wages. It is also probable that Thomas was employed at the Bayley Pottery Company."
I also posted earlier today the fact that Joseph Wilson (born ca. 1735) appears to have produced some Philadelphia-style pottery in Providence, which he advertised in the 'Newport (Rhode Island) Mercury' on June 22, 1767, "Joseph Wilson - potter at the North End of Providence Informs the Public that he can Supply them with Earthen Ware at a Cheap Rate, made in the best Manner and Glazed in the Same Way as Practised in Philadelphia - All Persons in this Town may be regularly supplied by Means of the Boats which constantly pass between this Place and Providence."
Nevertheless, the following sherds were recovered at the site of the Bayley Pottery and they certainly appear like some of the bowls that were produced in Philadelphia. This may have been a style of production that Thomas learned from Wilson, which he (or another potter) later produced at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport before 1799.
Note: John Thomas eventually traveled to North Yarmouth, Maine, where he helped establish that industry in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But this may also explain why Philadelphia-style bowls have also been recovered in various contexts in Yarmouth, Maine. These two links will redirect you to two articles that I have previously published that show the style of bowl, which has been recovered in Yarmouth; whereas, I have previously suggested that these bowls could have been locally-made, but I have been careful in making that attribution.
1) Slip-Decorated Bowl Recovered in Yarmouth, Maine
2) Philadelphia-Style Sherds Recovered from Trash Area in Yarmouth, Maine
Bowl Recovered at the Site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Co. in Newburyport, Mass.
18th Century Red Earthenware Bowl Sherds with Slip-Decorated Interior
Recovered at the Site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.
Appears to Imitate a Style of Bowl Produced in Philadelphia, Circa 1770-1815
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
Another View of the Bowl Sherds
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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