EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar that Recently Sold on eBay

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar that Recently Sold on eBay

This nineteenth century ovoid red earthenware jar sold on eBay late Christmas eve night, which was described by the seller, as a "very rare early-nineteenth century redware jar from Pennsylvania in the best bright orange glaze with yellow dots." The attribution was supposedly developed based on a similar jar that is pictured on page 244 in a book written by George Neuman and published in 1984, 'Early American Antique Country Furnishings.'

However, the jar was actually sold out of Connecticut; whereas, that is also where it was reportedly discovered.

Nevertheless, there is a nineteenth century red earthenware jug with a very-similar appearance in Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins' collection owned today by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The information which accompany's the jug identifies it as a product from Hervey Brooks' (1779-1873) potter's business in Goshen, Connecticut, circa 1819-1864.

Before Brooks opened his pottery in Goshen about 1819, he apprenticed in western Connecticut in the late-1790s, where some reports suggest he began as early as 1795. He worked as both a potter and a farmer through the span of his career, which was how many rural red earthenware potters operated throughout New England in the 1800s.

Interestingly, Watkins wrote about an account book in 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares' that Brooks kept from 1802-1873 that documented much of his production as a potter. It is an incredible survivor since there are not many eighteenth or nineteenth century account books known from New England potters today.

While it is acknowledge that red earthenware from the Brooks Pottery is rare by today's standards; however, it may not be completely understood how rare. It is written in Brooks' account book that he only fired his kiln once a year from 1828 until his pottery closed in 1864 due to the responsibilities and upkeep it took to successfully operate his farm.

The shift towards farming in 1828 may have also been a result of the emergence of stoneware in Connecticut, where it had become more popular with consumers. Brooks may have found farming was overall more dependable as a consistent means of income.

I also assume that a good amount of the red earthenware that survives from Brooks' business today predates 1828, especially when taking into consideration how easily this type of utilitarian pottery broke and was discarded. Common math proposes that Brooks was manufacturing more pottery during the earlier period of less than ten years. It is also interesting to note that Brooks incorporated a stamp, "H. BROOKS" and slip-decoration into his production. The stamp likely served as a means of advertising within Connecticut's marketplace.

It is certainly a strong possibility that the jar, which just sold on eBay could be a product of Brooks' business based on the similarities found on the jug owned by the Smithsonian. But it may also be from another pottery in Connecticut. For example, a red earthenware industry thrived in West Hartford, Connecticut in the early-nineteenth century, where comparable formed jars were made at such businesses as the Thomas O'Hara Goodwin (1796-1880) Pottery, as well as the Nathaniel Seymour (1763-1849) Pottery. The Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, Connecticut also owns a few similar formed jars that are simply attributed to, "Connecticut."

Red Earthenware Jar Found in Connecticut