Yesterday, I purchased another excellent Western New York jar from Sam Herrup's collection, which happens to be an object that he has owned for many years. This jar is decorated in a very rare style of multi-colored slip-decoration. While I can recall seeing this rare color combination of slip used in Western New York, I have never seen this exact style in which the slip was applied. The other objects that I reference have been owned through the years by such antiques dealers as Brian Cullity, David Good and Greg Kramer. Those objects were also thought to have been made at a pottery owned by Nathaniel Rochester in Rochester, New York, circa 1818-1831.
According to the Genesee Country Village and Museum, "After the American Revolution, when land in Western New York opened up for settlement, men and women left their rocky farms in New England and moved west. Pennsylvanians and Marylanders migrated from the south.
The pioneers who rushed to clear and develop the rich frontier were all hoping to improve their lot. Some would turn back. Some would be struck by Genesee Fever, a form of malaria. Some would move on to Ohio and Michigan. But many would stay.
In 1801, Colonel Nathaniel Rochester (1751-1831) left his comfortable circumstances in Hagerstown, Maryland, to move north to 155 acres in Dansville, New York, that had been bought on his trip to the Genesee Country in September 1800. The perilous 275-mile journey north through almost impassible mountains took three weeks.
On horseback the Colonel led a procession of carriages bearing the younger children and women of the household and three great Conestoga wagons with household goods, his ten slaves and some of his neighbors who came along to help. The Colonel moved north, he said, "to escape the influence of slavery, to set his slaves free and to rear his family in a free state."
In Dansville, Colonel Rochester purchased from David Scholl a plank house, believed to have been built around 1797 - and once settled in Dansville, he purchased most of the water rights at Canaseraga Creek. Colonel Rochester erected a large paper mill and a gristmill. In the meantime, he began to survey the 100 acre-tract at the falls of the Genesee River that he and his colleagues had purchased in 1803.
After five years in Dansville, Colonel Rochester moved to a large farm in East Bloomfield, New York, and continued his work laying out what would become the Village of Rochester. In 1818, he and his family finally moved near the falls into a house with a large garden and grounds sloping down to the river. In 1824, he erected a brick house on higher ground where he resided for the rest of his life."
As I have noted in previous posts from earlier this year, Rochester also offered some of his property in the Village in 1818, to be used as a pottery; he was not the potter himself, but the business is known by his name today. The potter or potters who worked at the Rochester Pottery produced some of the earliest wares in this region. Although, to my knowledge, the name is not known of the potter or potters employed here, but they were clearly skilled in their craft by what is known about this pottery from both archaeology and surviving objects.
Wonderful Slip-Decorated Jar from Western New York
19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to Western New York
Possibly Made at Nathaniel Rochester's Pottery in Rochester, NY
Possibly Circa 1818-1831
Stands 7 1/4" Tall
Ex-Sam Herrup Collection
See Article for More Information
Another View of the Jar
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View of the Interior
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View of the Base
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Other Western New York Jars Decorated with Similar Colors of Slip-Decoration
19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar
Attributed to Western New York
Very Likely Made at Nathaniel Rochester's Pottery in Rochester, NY
Very Likely Circa 1818-1831
Stands About 6 1/2" Tall
See Article for More Information
Has Been Owned by David Good and Greg Kramer
Photo Courtesy: David Good
(Circled) 19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar
Attributed to Western New York
Possibly Made at Nathaniel Rochester's Pottery in Rochester, NY
Possibly Circa 1818-1831
Has Been Owned by Brian Cullity and David Good
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Brian Cullity
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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