EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: 19th Century Red Earthenware Objects Owned by the Maine Historical Society that Retain a History of Ownership in Portland, Maine

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

19th Century Red Earthenware Objects Owned by the Maine Historical Society that Retain a History of Ownership in Portland, Maine

I wrote a feature story about the eighteenth and nineteenth century Dodge family potteries in Exeter, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine for the February 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest. The article analyzed each potter's business separately, and how the origin of these multigenerational businesses could be traced back to Exeter in the 1700s.

In particular, the Dodge Pottery in Portland is a business that deserves a lot more attention today in terms of what was actually made during this company's more-than 75 years of existence. I explained in the article the type of known wares that were made in Portland, which I suggested were the most artistic among the family businesses. But this business also obviously produced a lot of pottery despite the lack of documented information with how many of the wares actually appeared.

The article included a group of wonderful objects that were stamped with the rare Dodge mark applied in Portland, which are owned today by the Maine Historical Society in Portland, and originally acquired from a local woman named Alice Stephenson in the 1800s.

However, the historical society also owns a small pitcher and a black-glazed mug that the museum suggests were also made at the Dodge Pottery. I did not include these objects in the feature story since I was not certain of the Portland attribution, despite a well-documented local history of ownership; although, I have posted them on this website today.

Nevertheless, like I just wrote, I can not prove the attribution, nor can I discredit it, either. I would not necessarily view these objects as guaranteed products from the Dodge Pottery, but I would also not view them negatively saying they are definitely not from Portland. I think an open mind needs to be kept with the possibilities that may have happened with the red earthenware manufactured by the Dodges in Portland in the late-1790s up until around 1876.

Note: For anyone who does not already, but would like to own a copy of my recent feature story about the eighteenth and nineteenth century Dodge Potteries in New Hampshire and Maine - Maine Antique Digest is selling individual copies for $5.50 each - visit this link for more information about purchasing a copy.

Small Red Earthenware Creamer