EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: Enos Smedley's Pottery in Chester County, Pennsylvania and a Candle Mold Marked "Smedley & Co."

Monday, October 28, 2019

Enos Smedley's Pottery in Chester County, Pennsylvania and a Candle Mold Marked "Smedley & Co."

This nineteenth century twenty-four tube red earthenware candle mold set inside a pine frame may come as a surprise to some reading this article, where this type of production is typically associated with Alvin Wilcox's (1801-62) pottery business in West Bloomfield, New York, circa 1825-60. However, these tubes are actually marked with a different name, possibly representing a potter in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

I saw this mold last week, while visiting Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer, Greg Kramer. I commented about the mold, and he told me to take a closer look at the tubes. I was very surprised to see they were marked "SMEDLEY & CO.," possibly representing the work of Enos Smedley (1805-92).

Thanks to Gary Dean Dexter, I learned this information about Smedley: "Enos Smedley learned the trade of a potter with Aaron James, a neighbor in Westtown, Pennsylvania, being his last apprentice. This was an important industry in that day, when but little tinware was used, and his master, who died about 1822, left a valuable estate. He had learned the business with one Curtis, near Front and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia, and always used Philadelphia clay."

Furthermore, it was published in an article written by James Jones in 2011, titled, West Chester's First Factory Still Stands, "Although the existence of West Chester's first factory was no secret, its location was something of a mystery and everyone with an interest had assumed that it was demolished in the nineteenth century. As it turns out, the factory was preserved and remodeled into a row of houses that still stand today.

The historic factory was Enos Smedley's pottery. Smedley moved his pottery-making business to the Burough from Downington in 1831, and created a successful business that used clay imported from Philadelphia by wagon and railroad to produced dishes, pots and other utensils that he sold locally.

Smedley continued the business until 1852, when he was succeeded by James P. Donnelly, who was one of his employees. Donnelly operated the pottery until 1863."

The best known example of Smedley's production may be a sgraffito red earthenware flowerpot with attached saucer in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which he made during the early years of his career in Westtown. Although, the candle mold is certainly fascinating since it very much resembles production from the Wilcox Pottery based on the pine frame, as well as archaeological evidence found in the manufacture of the tubes and the interior glaze. The "Smedley & Company" may represent the period after Donnelly succeeded Smedley in ownership.

Nevertheless, knowing that I have seen many unsigned examples of these exact candle molds through the years, I now must possibly consider a Chester County attribution, along with the longstanding attribution to the Alvin Wilcox Pottery in western New York.

Enos Smedley's Pottery in Chester County, Pennsylvania