Three years ago, I wrote a research story for the the February 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled, "The Dodges and Their Potteries." The story covered eighteenth and nineteenth century family production in Exeter, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine. Interestingly, even though this family was prolific, they are somewhat forgotten today when compared to some of the better known businesses located elsewhere in New England.
That story relied heavily on archaeology from Exeter and Portsmouth kept today at Strawbery Banke's Archaeology Department in Portsmouth. But early documents were also an important source of information, especially with the Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, as they are with any research.
Below I have posted three extremely rare nineteenth century red earthenware spice jars attributed to the Benjamin Dodge Pottery in Portland, alongside the 1821 Portsmouth City Directory, which cites Joseph Dodge and Joseph Dodge Jr. as potters on North Street. It also indicates that the elder Dodge owned a wharf likely proving that his pottery was exported elsewhere in the Piscataqua River region and perhaps along coastal New England.
Note: I should also mention that Crocker Farm sold a rare marked milk pan from the Dodge Pottery in Portland in their most recent auction. I can recall having only seen a few pieces marked by this business through the years: a jar that is privately owned in Massachusetts, a milk pan owned by Old Sturbridge Village and another milk pan owned by the Maine State Museum.
The Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and a Recap of an Article Published in Maine Antique Digest
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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