Born in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1829, Charles Albert (Solares) Lawrence (1829-1904) learned about household red earthenware production as an apprentice at Joseph Reed’s (1809-84) pottery in Peabody, Massachusetts in the 1850s and early-1860s. He later established his own pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts, around the end of the Civil War. This aspect of Lawrence’s career has been well documented, although it only represents a small percentage of his output as a career potter.
For the last decade, I have been researching the history of the C.A. Lawrence Pottery, wanting to know all of the facts about this business. From the start, I knew this was a significant company based on some of the known early production, but there was very little documented information.
I began my search by speaking to some local longtime collectors and historians, such as Roger Pheulpin from Gloucester, Massachusetts. And from there, I began to visit other private collections and museums all over the country. I learned about a hand-painted ancient formed jug owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, made in Beverly in the 1870s. This was the only documented object in this style, which was a major area of production, beginning in 1872. I also walked the shoreline of the Bass River in Beverly, next to where the pottery operated, trying to find hidden clues about the business. I read a countless number of nineteenth century local publications and newspapers from the Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts area, hoping to find any records of this business; any type of advertising was helpful, and especially any text that accompanied it.
As the pieces of the puzzle began to unfold, I learned that Lawrence produced traditional household pottery in the early years, often decorated with multiple colors of slip, a style of decoration rarely found in Massachusetts in the 1800s. In fact, it was rarely produced in New England, and in some ways, resembles some slipware manufactured in Philadelphia in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth century. This style of slip is found on a variety of rare Beverly forms today, and while some forms were expected, others were surprising to see.
However, I had to learn more about the ancient production - I aggressively pursued this research, and it took years to really understand what was actually happening with these wares. Outside of the collections of Jim Kaufman in Dedham, Massachusetts, who specializes in pottery made at the Chelsea Keramic Arts Works and the Dedham Pottery, as well Historic Beverly and the MET, it is a subject that has been largely forgotten since the company ceased production around 1906.
It was in the early-1870s, when Lawrence introduced a new line of artware to the Beverly and Boston marketplace, which at the time was unique for American production. A few years later, American consumers and design enthusiasts found themselves infatuated with the decorative wares made by some of the best manufacturers in Europe and China at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition which triggered the American art pottery movement, a change that Lawrence had already foreseen in the industry.
For about forty years, the wares made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly were among the most innovative products made anywhere in America, bringing together household pottery, artware and commemorative objects. As a collective group, this was really unlike anything else in New England.
I am thrilled to announce that my newly published book, The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence is the first of its kind and the culmination of ten years’ worth of research, exploring the life of Charles A. Lawrence, the history of the Beverly Pottery, and the totality of the company’s production. The 108 page book includes well over 100 illustrations, advertising, business cards, exports, paperwork, and most of the major pieces of documented Beverly pottery known to exist today.
For more information about the book - it will be included in Antiques & the Arts Weekly's forthcoming Holiday Book Roundup issue, which prints on Tuesday November 26, 2019, as well as an upcoming issue of Maine Antique Digest.
Where to Buy: The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence is available to purchase for $12 plux tax through Historic Beverly’s bookstore (discounted for members), Historic Beverly’s online store (historicbeverly.net/shop/), and Amazon.com.
My New Book: The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence
My New Book: The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence
See Article for More Information
Available Through Historic Beverly and Amazon.com
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
No comments:
Post a Comment