EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: New Discoveries: Artifacts from William Pecker's Circa 1790-1820 Pottery Operation in Merrimacport, Massachusetts

Monday, October 15, 2018

New Discoveries: Artifacts from William Pecker's Circa 1790-1820 Pottery Operation in Merrimacport, Massachusetts

Yesterday morning, my niece Alexis and myself visited an area along the Merrimack River in Merrimacport, Massachusetts, which every once in a while turns up artifacts from the late-eighteenth and nineteenth century red earthenware and stoneware potteries in Merrimacport, Massachusetts. We timed our short trip from Newburyport, Massachusetts perfectly yesterday, visiting the shoreline exactly at low tide, and we were not disappointed.

These objects represent some of the artifacts we discovered; included is the top of a two gallon stoneware jug made at William Pecker's circa 1790-1820 pottery. The artifact reveals some cobalt decoration, but it's also great to see the capacity mark. Directly below this mark would have been a stamp exhibiting Wm. Pecker's name. I have also demonstrated below how this would have appeared based on a two gallon Pecker stoneware jug from my personal collection.

Some of the other artifacts that we discovered include stoneware kiln furniture, red earthenware kiln furniture, stoneware sherds and a kiln brick. These objects were all previously removed from a hill in Merrimacport, as a result of storm erosion - so I am certain they are from production in Merrimacport, as opposed to objects that were either discarded locally into the river years ago or washed ashore from another nearby community, also located along the Merrimack River.

I also want to note that through the years, we have recovered probably a few dozen different red earthenware glaze colors related to the Pecker Pottery in Merrimacport. I have not seen the vast majority of these glazes on any known surviving objects from this business, which really demonstrates how studying the remains from a potter's business can reveal a much more in-depth view of the operation, as opposed to the information that can be obtained only from studying surviving objects.

Note: Some of these objects will be displayed next year in a room exhibit at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Massachusetts, highlighting the circa 1790-1880s potteries in Merrimacport, Massachusetts. The display will run from the summer of 2019 until the summer of 2020. Some of the exhibit will include upwards of one-hundred stoneware artifacts from William Pecker's operation, such as kiln furniture, kiln bricks, wasters and sherds.

Top of a Stoneware Jug