EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: Political Red Earthenware Mugs Manufactured by John Farmer Clark in Concord, New Hampshire

Monday, August 6, 2018

Political Red Earthenware Mugs Manufactured by John Farmer Clark in Concord, New Hampshire

It's official - the 2018 edition of Antiques Week in New Hampshire has arrived! I also thought today would be a good day to write about this type of nineteenth century red earthenware mug, which is occasionally found in the antique marketplace today, sometimes even marked with a political inscription.

I viewed this particular pair of mugs, while visiting the New Hampshire Historical Society last weekend in Concord, New Hampshire. These type of political mugs were made by John Farmer Clark (1823-1885) in Concord, New Hampshire in the 1870s and 1880s. Clark was also a descendant of Peter Clark (1743-1826), who established the Clark potting dynasty in central New Hampshire, when he moved from Braintree, Massachusetts to Lyndeborough, New Hampshire in 1775. I wrote a feature story about some of the Clarks, which was published exactly two years ago in the August 2016 edition of the New England Antiques Journal.

According to the New Hampshire Historical Society, "John Farmer Clark made souvenirs for presidential elections. These mugs were made for candidates from both parties - Democrats Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks won the president and vice president election in 1884, defeating Republicans James G. Blaine and John A. Logan."

19th Century Political Mugs from Concord, NH