The Stephen and Terry Ferrell Collection that Recently Sold at Wooten and Wooten Auctions in Camden, South Carolina

I first wrote about the Stephen and Terry Ferrell Collection in August 2015, after 92 pieces of mostly nineteenth century Edgefield, South Carolina stoneware sold in January 2014 at Wooten and Wooten Auctions in Camden, South Carolina. I cited the Aiken Standard Newspaper in that article, "Terry Ferrell and his son, Stephen Ferrell began acquiring Edgefield pottery in the 1960s at flea markets, yard sales and antique stores. Until recently, many of the jugs, jars and other items they owned were on display at Terry Ferrell's Antiques and the Ferrell Museum in downtown Edgefield.

Jeremy Wooten, president of Wooten and Wooten said, "This is one of the best collections of Southern stoneware that has ever been offered. It is a remarkable group that includes some extremely rare, one-of-a-kind pieces."

It has now been more than four years since that aspect of the collection was sold, although Wooten and Wooten just sold the remainder of the Ferrell Collection earlier this month on Saturday September the eighth. According to an advertisement in the September 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest, "This collection represents a lifetime of scholarship and collecting by the Ferrells. The collection includes fine southern stoneware, furniture, baskets, bottles, photographs, wrought iron, quilts and much more."

Nevertheless, I have posted a few of the lots from the sale that I thought would be of interest; the sale included dozens of lots of Edgefield stoneware, which ranged from spectacular examples, to artifacts and sherds. Overall, each artifact and object demonstrated some piece of significance to the history of stoneware (and porcelain) production in the Edgefield District before and after the American Civil War.

The Ferrell Collection of South Carolina

Photograph Depicting an African-American Woman with a Monumental Edgfield, SC Face Jug

Measures 6 1/2" Tall and 4 1/8" Wide

Owned by the Ferrells for Decades

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

Reverse Side of Photograph

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Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

 Reportedly a Whimsical 19th Century Stoneware Toy Bird from the Edgefield District in SC

Attributed to the Pottery Operation of Lenious and Abner Landrum Working in Columbia, SC

This Bird was Discovered While Digging at the Site of the Mentioned Pottery

Circa 1870s

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

View of the Base

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

Upcountry South Carolina Dog Figure Attributed to the Clayton Family

The Clayton Family Produced a Variety of Figures, But Few are Known to Exist Today

Circa 1900

Stands 5 1/2" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

19th Century Edgefield, SC Stoneware Sherds

Collected at the Site of Colin Rhodes Pottery

Circa 1845

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

19th Century Porcelain Pitchers

Attributed to the Southern Porcelain Company of Kaolin, SC

Circa 1860

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Wooten and Wooten

The Ferrells and Their Collection

 Terry Ferrell Stands with a Group of Stoneware that He Collected with his Son Stephen Ferrell

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Photo Courtesy: Aiken Standard Newspaper

(Left) Terry Ferrell (Right) Stephen Ferrell

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Photo Courtesy: Aiken Standard Newspaper 

 The Ferrell Museum in Downtown Edgefield, SC

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Photo Courtesy: Aiken Standard Newspaper

A Few of the Face Jugs from the Ferrell Collection

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Photo Courtesy: Aiken Standard Newspaper

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

A Collection of Red Earthenware that Sold this Morning at Steenburgh Auctions in Woodsville, New Hampshire

A nice selection of nineteenth century red earthenware just sold this morning at Steenburgh Auctions in Woodsville, New Hampshire, which is a small community located to the west of the White Mountain National Forest. The pottery had been consigned from Michael George, a New Hampshire collector, although the highlight was certainly a colorfully glazed handled pot.

The base of the pot was inscribed by the potter "73," a characteristic found more-so with the potters in Maine than any other state in New England. As a result, I believe that is where this pot was manufactured sometime during the early-to-mid nineteenth century.

I have also seen similar glaze patterns, like that on this pot, which almost resemble a marbled glaze in archaeology from some of the potteries in southern Maine, such as the Bickford family pottery in Buxton, Maine. But it's tough to say exactly which red earthenware business is responsible for this object. Nevertheless, this is a spectacular piece of northern New England red earthenware.

Selection of Red Earthenware

Collection of 19th Century Red Earthenware Sold Today at Steenburgh Auctions in NH

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Steenburgh Auctions

Wonderful Handled Red Earthenware Pot

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Very Possibly Made in Southern Maine
Likely Early-to-Mid 19th Century

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Steenburgh Auctions

 Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Steenburgh Auctions

The Number "73" was Inscribed by the Potter into the Base

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Steenburgh Auctions

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

A Small Collection of Ephemera from Red Earthenware Potters in Central Massachusetts and Dublin, New Hampshire Utilized by Lura Woodside Watkins

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins wrote in Early New England Potters and Their Wares, "Perhaps the best-known pottery in Worcester County, Massachusetts is the one at West Sterling. It stood in the shadow of Mount Wachusett, from which it took its name. The letterheads from the Wachusett Pottery indicate that it was founded in 1820. 

Edwin H. Coolidge, whose interesting article, "The Pottery Business in Sterling," appeared in Old-Time New England, July 1932, says that he was unable to find any record of the works before a purchase of land by Henry Tolman, a potter of Troy, New Hampshire, in 1837, although he believes it was in operation before that date. 

The pottery was situated on the easterly bank of a beautiful running stream in the village of West Sterling, where the foundations of the buildings may still be seen. Clay was bought from a pit one and one-half miles away. This concern was at first about the size of the average country pottery, making twenty-five hundred dollars worth of red earthenware per annum and employing only three men. Even in 1855, statistics show that it had not progressed beyond this status, but in 1865 its output had doubled.

Henry Tolman was assisted and then succeeded by his son Henry, who in 1849 was running the works under the name H. Tolman Jr. and Company. The father had evidently retired, and he died two years later. The firm is also listed in the New England Directory of 1849 as Tolman and Wight. It is possible that Abner S. Wight of Dublin, New Hampshire, already had an interest in the Sterling pottery, although by all accounts he did not purchase it until about 1860. 

A bill of ware headed by W.D. Sime and Company and dated July 2, 1853, is receipted by J.D. (Jonas Dustin) Wight, Abner's brother, who was the company clerk. As Mr. Coolidge does not mention Sime, he may have been merely an agent for the pottery.

In 1856 the firm name was Wight and Willard (later A.S. Wight and Company), Tolman having withdrawn from the partnership. Abner Wight and his associate carried on a thriving business until after the close of the Civil War. The pottery's affairs were then taken over by Marcus L. Snow, James Smith and Marcellus Wight, Abner's son, as Snow, Smith and Company."

Interestingly, I just acquired a small collection of ephemera from Hyannis, Massachusetts on Cape Cod that relates to most of the businesses that I just cited; one of the pieces of paper is the same billhead that Watkins cites from the W.D. Sime and Company, signed by J.D. (Jonas Dustin) Wight, and dated July 2, 1853.  There is also a piece of paper in the collection from the post-Civil War pottery, Snow, Smith and Company, dated September 14, 1866.

I believe the entire collection was originally owned by Frank H. Norton, who Watkins references throughout Early New England Potters and Their Wares. The remaining pieces in the collection are from Eben and Osgood Russell's pottery in Dublin, New Hampshire (also called Chesham or Pottersville), and all are signed and dated by Osgood, with another signed and dated by Eben. One of these billheads was also referenced in Watkins' book on page 114. To my knowledge, this is the only paper work known today from any of the potter's businesses that existed in Chesham or Pottersville in the 1800s.

According to Watkins, "Eben Russell, with his son, Osgood N., was carrying on what he called the "Dublin Earthen Ware Manufactory." This works was in Pottersville and was the first building on the north side of the southerly approach to the town from Harrisville, New Hampshire. It stood at the top of the hill near the "junction of the ancient road with the present highway." Osgood N. Russell's house was directly opposite the pottery, and his father's home was next to the west. 

Several bills of sales put out by the Russells and now in the possession of F.H. Norton show that they were still running in 1858, although they gave up the management of the pottery by 1860. These bills are of the greatest importance in showing what the red earthenware potters were making (in this area) just before the Civil War."

W.D. Sime and Company - West Sterling, Mass.

Billhead from W.D. Sime and Company in West Sterling, Mass.

Dated "July 2, 1853"

Signed by J.D. (Jonas Dustin) Wight
This is the Same Billhead Referenced by Watkins in Early New England Potters and Their Wares

See Article for More Information

View of J.D. (Jonas Dustin) Wight's Signature

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Snow, Smith and Company - West Sterling, Mass.

Billhead from Snow, Smith and Company in West Sterling, Mass.

Dated "September 14, 1866"

See Article for More Information

Osgood N. Russell - Dublin, NH, 1854

Billhead from Osgood N. Russell's Red Earthenware Pottery in Dublin, NH

This Area is also Known as Chesham or Pottersville

Signed by Osgood N. Russell and Dated on the Back "Dec. 1, 1854"

See Article for More Information

View of Osgood N. Russell's Signature and Date

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Osgood N. Russell - Dublin, NH, 1855

Billhead from Osgood N. Russell's Red Earthenware Pottery in Dublin, NH

This Area is also Known as Chesham or Pottersville

Dated on the Bottom "June 9th. 1855" and Signed "Eben Russell"

Signed by Osgood N. Russell and Dated on the Back "June 9, 1855"

See Article for More Information

View of Date and Eben Russell's Signature

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View of Osgood N. Russell's Signature and Date

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Osgood N. Russell - Dublin, NH, 1858

Billhead from Osgood N. Russell's Red Earthenware Pottery in Dublin, NH

This Area is also Known as Chesham or Pottersville

Signed by Osgood N. Russell and Dated on the Back "Sept. 15, 1858"

This is the Same Billhead Referenced by Watkins in Early New England Potters and Their Wares

See Article for More Information

View of Osgood N. Russell's Signature and Date

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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

Feature Story Published in the October 2018 Issue of Maine Antique Digest About Red Earthenware and New York City

A few weeks ago, I posted an article that announced a feature story I had written about red earthenware found in New York City, from local potters and domestic imports, which would be published in the October 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest. That online article gave a preview of how some of the pictures would appear in the printed article, where I had posted a few examples of nineteenth century slip-script red earthenware that had just been recovered from a privy in New York City; those objects are also thought to have been made in New Jersey, possibly nearby in River Edge, New Jersey.

Nevertheless, the article is now available, and my niece Alexis is quite happy since she is shown in two of the pictures holding pottery. But I would also like to provide a little bit more of the story on this website by posting four additional pieces of red earthenware. These objects represent the type of wares that were produced in the city in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, as well as the focus given to New York City by domestic potters located in Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, and perhaps Philadelphia.

Three of the pieces that I have posted below serve as examples of the type of red earthenware manufactured in New York City in the seventeenth and eighteenth century - while the fourth example likely demonstrates the importance of the New York City market, as perceived by some of the surrounding industries. This particular plate is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is attributed to the industry in Norwalk, Connecticut, bearing an inscription in slip that reads "New York City."

October 2018 Issue of Maine Antique Digest

My Niece Alexis Holding a Feature Story About Red Earthenware and New York City

This Story is Available in the October 2018 Issue of Maine Antique Digest

See Article for More Information

 My Niece Alexis Holding a Feature Story About Red Earthenware and New York City

This Story is Available in the October 2018 Issue of Maine Antique Digest

See Article for More Information

The October 2018 Issue of Maine Antique Digest

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17th Century New York City Red Earthenware

 17th Century Dutch-Style Red Earthenware Jug Likely Made in New York City

Excavated from within a Barrel at the Site of the Lovelace Tavern

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York City Archaeological Repository

Another View of the Jug

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New York City Archaeological Repository

 18th Century New York City Red Earthenware

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl

Recovered from an 18th Century Privy in Lower Manhattan in the 1980s

Very Possibly Manufactured in Manhattan

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Manny Birittieri

18th Century Red Earthenware Chamber Pot

Recovered from an 18th Century Privy in Lower Manhattan in the 1980s

Very Possibly Locally Made in New York City

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Manny Birittieri

18th Century "New York City" Red Earthenware

19th Century Slip-Script Red Earthenware Plate Adorned with the Words "New York City"

Attributed to the Asa Smith Pottery in Norwalk, CT

Possibly Decorated by Henry Chichester

Circa 1825

Measures 13 1/3" in Diameter

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

The 1789-1828 Diary of New Hampshire Red Earthenware Potter Daniel Clark

In August 2016, the New England Antiques Journal published a feature story I wrote about Peter Clark's (1743-1826) red earthenware production before and after the American Revolution in Braintree, Massachusetts and Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Nonetheless, I just finished writing a followup to that story, which I hope will be published sometime in the future.

This next story recaps the career path of Daniel Clark (1768-1828), one of Peter's four sons, who learned the potter's craft from his father in Lyndeborough before he relocated to Concord, New Hampshire in 1791/92. The story largely concentrates on Daniel as he established the industry in Millville, an historic neighborhood in the western section of Concord. But I also focus heavily on the business after Daniel's death in 1828, as it transfers ownership to later generations of Clark family members through the 1880s.

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins heavily emphasized the Daniel Clark Pottery, when Early New England Potters and Their Wares was published in 1950, as a result of a 1789-1828 diary kept by Clark owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. Watkins wrote that because of this book, Clark's career is likely the most detailed of any potter employed in New England in the eighteenth or nineteenth century; he wrote down about one line per day from the age of 21 until his death at the age of 60.

I also analyze the Flanders Pottery, Whittemore Pottery and Joseph Hazeltine Pottery in Concord, which in some ways were by-products of the Clark Pottery, although all three were significant businesses themselves. In fact, archaeologists excavated the site of the Hazeltine Pottery in 1982-1984, which is described today as an important archaeology site, representing the largest potter's business ever professionally excavated in New Hampshire. The remains of this business are kept today at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

I would also like to add that I don't think it's common to here the term "Concord pottery" referenced today, despite this industry manufacturing a significant output during the circa 1792-1885 period.

Daniel Clark's 1789--1828 Diary

18th/19th Century Diary Kept by NH Potter Daniel Clark

Dates from 1789-1828

This Diary Preserves Clark's Pottery Activity During this Period in Lyndeborough and Concord, NH

But it Also Mentions the Comings and Goings of Other Potters in Concord, NH

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

The Albany and Troy, New York Stoneware Industry: An Informative Lecture at the Bennington Museum in Vermont

I finally attended a stoneware collectors' lecture at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont; I have been saying for a few years now that I would attend one of these biannual meetings, and it just so happened that it all worked at the end of last week. I now also plan to try and attend more lectures in the future

It was excellent seeing Tim Bailey, Jude Hanley and Curtis Rice talk about the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century stoneware potters in the Albany, New York and Troy, New York area, which has been an intensive undertaking on their behalf, trying to decipher the complicated web of employment, relocation, production and influence. This is also a subject that Tim Bayley has been researching for years.

But I was also excited to see some of the red earthenware artifacts recently excavated by Jude Hanley from what is believed to be the site of Israel Seymour's red earthenware pottery in Troy, an aspect of upstate New York's production that is barely documented today. In fact, it is a subject that has been hardly touched upon other than some information published in 1926 by John Spargo in Early American Pottery and China. 

According to Spargo, "Seymour is said to have made slip-decorated plates during the (circa) 1809-1812 period." It seems that William Ketchum, Jr. later republished some of Spargo's information about Seymour in Potters and Potteries of New York State, 1650-1900. Nonetheless, it was great to see this type of slip production represented in the dozens of sherds that Jude has recovered thus far - but I also noticed that some of the sherds were decorated with what appeared to be an interior and exterior Albany-glaze, a style of glaze that is rather rare to find on red earthenware today. There were also other sherds exhibiting other types of simple glazes.

The event itself is put together by Steve and Lorraine German from Mad River Antiques in North Granby, Connecticut. According to the Germans, "The Stoneware Collectors' Group began in the late 1980s with an annual stoneware auction in Vermont. Although the auction eventually ended, the stoneware dealers and collectors continued their periodic get-togethers in Bennington to swap stories as well as stoneware. The result was the Stoneware Collectors' Sale and Lecture, held twice a year, in the spring and fall. 

The Friday/Saturday event includes a sale on Saturday, which is held rain or shine under large tents on the grounds of the Antique Center at Camelot Village."

Stoneware Collectors' Lecture

Spectacular View Outside the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont

See Article for More Information

(Left) Tim Bailey and (Right) Jude Hanley During Their Presentation

(Not Pictured) Curtis Rice

Their Talk Covered the Early History of the Stoneware Potters in Albany and Troy, NY

See Article for More Information

Aside from the presentation, the Bennington Museum is also a spectacular place to visit, with collections spanning from the works of Grandma Moses (1860-1961), nineteenth and twentieth century art and furniture from Vermont, a world-class collection of pottery manufactured in Bennington, as well as the Mrs. William Whitman, Jr. (1877-1964) collection of red earthenware, some of which was previously displayed in Boston in the 1920s.

The following pictures are some of the local pieces that caught my attention in the museum, which are not the typical Bennington cobalt decorated stoneware or the flint enamel and Rockingham-glazed wares that are widely known today.

Bennington Museum

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jug

Made at the Original John Norton Pottery in Bennington, VT

Circa 1785-1798

Stands 6" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington Museum

19th Century Stoneware Vase in the Form of an Amphora

Attributed to Charles C. Kimball in Bennington, VT

Circa 1870-1875

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington Museum 

Information on Display with the Amphora Formed Vase

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Photo Courtesy: Bennington Museum

 19th Century Agateware Pitcher Made in Bennington, VT

Made at the United States Pottery Company

Marked "J. Seymour."

Circa 1853

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington Museum

Information on Display with the Agateware Pitcher

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Bennington Museum

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...

The Lifelong Collection of Barbara Delaney that Sold Last Night in Byfield, Massachusetts

Cape Ann Auctions in Gloucester, Massachusetts sold the lifelong antiques collection of Barbara Delaney (1939-2018) from Peabody, Massachusetts last night at the Byfield Community Arts Center in Byfield, Massachusetts. Mrs. Delaney was an antique dealer; she worked at Chebacco Antiques in Essex, Massachusetts, and later opened her own shop in Wiscasset, Maine.

It seems that many of the antiques that sold last night were from the local Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts area, such as a collection of original Parker Brothers board games from Salem. But there was a lot to see, including local artwork, woodenware, furniture, folk art, baskets, books, glass, Shaker accessories, stoneware, art pottery, redware, Chinese export porcelain, toys, and so much more.

My interest was with some of the pottery, which was very likely found locally, like a wonderful green glazed red earthenware pot attributed to Thomas Nickerson's Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts, circa 1897-1908. However, some of the other pieces of red earthenware answered some questions that I have always suspected about the late-nineteenth and twentieth century production in Peabody.

For instance, a souvenir handled red earthenware bean pot sold in the sale that had been stamped "Peabody Pottery / Established / 1736." This rare mark is directly related to other objects bearing similar marks in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., which were made at the Moses Paige Pottery in Peabody, circa 1876-1940s. I've actually never seen this mark outside of a museum collection before, and it is also impressed with the same information found on an original painted sign from the Paige Pottery (see below) in the collection of the Peabody Historical Society.

Another souvenir piece of red earthenware in the sale basically confirmed what I have always suspected; I'm sure many people have seen the miniature "NECCO" and "BOSTON BAKED BEANS" bean pots that are often found in the antique marketplace today. I have always felt that the manufacture and shape of these pots suggested that they were made in either Peabody or Beverly, Massachusetts. However, Barbara Delaney's collection included a souvenir "BOSTON BAKED BEANS" bean pot that was also inscribed "Peabody / S and V Fair / 1898." I believe this information also confirms that these souvenir pots were made at the Paige Pottery.

I have also included a picture of two other nineteenth or twentieth century red earthenware pots that were in the sale; I believe these pots were also manufactured in Peabody, and they may represent production from the Paige Pottery, as well.

The Collection of Barbara Delaney from Peabody, Mass.

 My Nephew Jason at the Sale of Barbara Delaney's Collection in Byfield, Mass.

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 Barbara Delaney's Collection from Peabody, Mass.

Sold Last Night by Cape Ann Auctions in Byfield, Mass.

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 Barbara Delaney's Collection from Peabody, Mass.

Sold Last Night by Cape Ann Auctions in Byfield, Mass.

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 Barbara Delaney's Collection from Peabody, Mass.

Sold Last Night by Cape Ann Auctions in Byfield, Mass.

See Article for More Information

Merrimac Pottery Company Red Earthenware Pot

 Late-19th or Early-20th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Pot

Attributed to the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1897-1908

Likely Found by Barbara Delaney in the Peabody, Mass. Area

See Article for More Information

View of the Interior

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 View of the Base

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Souvenir Bean Pot from the "Peabody Pottery"

 Late-19th or 20th Century Red Earthenware Souvenir Handled Bean Pot

Attributed to Moses Paige's Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

Stamped "Peabody Pottery / Established / 1736"

This Mark is Related to Objects in the Collection of the MFA in Boston and the Smithsonian

Circa 1876-1940s

See Article for More Information

View of the Mark "Peabody Pottery / Established / 1736"

See Article for More Information

Painted Sign from Moses Paige's Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

The Same Information is Found on this Sign as is the Impressed Mark on the Handled Bean Pot 

See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Peabody, Mass. Historical Society

Souvenir Bean Pot from Peabody, Mass.

 Late-19th Century Red Earthenware Souvenir Bean Pot

Attributed to Moses Paige's Pottery in Peabody, Mass.

Stamped on One Side "BOSTON BAKED BEANS"

See Article for More Information

 Reverse Side Marked "Peabody / S and V Fair / 1898"

See Article for More Information

Red Earthenware Pots Also Likely from Peabody, Mass.

19th or 20th Century Red Earthenware Pots Also Likely from Peabody, Mass.

Very Possibly Also from Moses Paige's Pottery

The Jar on the Left is Also Marked

See Article for More Information

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...