Another example of the fish stamp that I wrote about last weekend sold today at John McInnis' auction in Amesbury, Massachusetts. This particular stamp is on what appears to be a one gallon ovoid stoneware jug, which was sold as part of the collection of Jack and Grace Weil of Marblehead, Massachusetts. To my knowledge, this is now the third piece of stoneware that bears this mark. The Weils were also connected to Massachusetts author Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982), who wrote the landmark book Early New England Potters and Their Wares in 1950.
This type of fish stamp was included in my new book South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery, although, it is unproven if this stamp was used alongside another fish stamp known to have been applied at the Pecker Pottery. It is my opinion that this stamp may have been produced in South Amesbury, but it could also be from another New England pottery such as the industry in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Simply put, there needs to be more substantial evidence, whether it is archaeology, a signed piece or some other way to connect this stamp to a particular business.
Interestingly though, a friend of mine actually handled the Weils estate before it went to auction, and I was fortunate to acquire two great objects from the Beverly Pottery, one of which was an important photograph of the pottery published in Figure 5 in Watkins' book Early New England Potters and Their Wares, as well as a painted Grecian style ewer that I wrote about earlier this spring.
This jug sold today for $1,200 plus the auction premiums.
A Stoneware Jug Marked with a Fish Stamp
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