EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: Pottery Exhibit at the Landis Valley Museum and a Wonderful 19th Century Acorn Tree Formed Stoneware Drinking Set Found in Columbia, Pennsylvania

Monday, July 8, 2019

Pottery Exhibit at the Landis Valley Museum and a Wonderful 19th Century Acorn Tree Formed Stoneware Drinking Set Found in Columbia, Pennsylvania

While on vacation a few weeks ago with my nephew Jason, we visited an excellent red earthenware exhibit on display in the Visitor Center at the Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. According to the museum, "The exhibit, "Thrown, Fired, and Glazed: The Redware Tradition from Pennsylvania and Beyond," is a two-year exhibit, running from March-December 2019, and March-December 2020. Throughout the two-years, over 150 pieces of redware will be shown each year, encompassing history of red earthenware production. With the ability to exhibit a variety of pieces each year, the Landis Valley Museum was able to focus on the differences in red earthenware made in Europe, the Northern United States, Southern United States, and Pennsylvania. Although, Pennsylvania's pottery tradition will be the major focus of the exhibit, covering archaeological pieces, traditional work, the creation of pottery, and the revival of the art form. Many pieces displayed from public and private collections have never been seen by the public before."

I highly recommend this exhibit, which displays some incredible pottery from all-over Pennsylvania, as well as Hagerstown, Maryland and Virginia. There will be a catalog published for both parts, but that will not be available until next year.

Thrown, Fired, and Glazed: The Redware Tradition from Pennsylvania and Beyond

Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster, PA

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Photo Courtesy: Landis Valley Museum

My Nephew Jason Inside the Pottery Exhibit

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Photo Courtesy: Landis Valley Museum

However, after we visited the museum, my nephew and I decided to check out some of the shops in this part of central Pennsylvania. Of all the places we visited, we probably enjoyed the shops in Columbia, Pennsylvania the most, seeing that there were a number of places to check out within a short distance of each other.

We found this great complete nineteenth century acorn tree formed stoneware mug and pitcher drinking set inside Rivertowne Antique Center. The shop is located in a restored nineteenth century tobacco warehouse near the Wrightsville Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River. The building is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

I asked the women running the shop if they could call the dealer who owned the drinking set, hoping to learn more information about where it was found. They called, and the dealer said he had just purchased it locally. I actually learned later that day from a friend who lives in the area that he remembered seeing this set recently advertised in a small local auction.

Nevertheless, we were thrilled to find this set; in fact, I have not personally seen a complete set like this before. I have seen more traditional late-nineteenth century stoneware presentation mug and pitcher drinking sets from the Remmey Pottery in Philadelphia, as well as possibly the Wingender Pottery in Haddonfield, Pennsylvania. But I have not seen a complete set such as this, which survives in great condition with its original paint.

A similar style was produced in Amana, Iowa in the 1800s, although the style that I have seen from that area appears different than that found on these objects. Whereas, this drinking set is an identical match and undoubtedly came from the same manufacturer as a single mug that sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in May 2015. That mug was inscribed on the base, "JOHN FRITZ / 5th R. SOMERSET. ST. / PHIL," and was said to have reportedly originated in Philadelphia about 1890 or maybe a little bit earlier.

Rivertowne Antique Center in Columbia, PA