I purchased this rare nineteenth century red earthenware jug years ago from North Monmouth, Maine antiques dealer David McLean; he discovered the jug in the area that he lives, which also happens to have been the location that the Safford family of potters worked in Monmouth in the 1800s.
The reason I purchased the jug is because it is marked on the front "JOHN SAFFORD 2D," a rare mark to find today, although there are a small group of examples that survive, and not all of which are as nicely glazed as this jug. This mark is also associated with the 1820-1854 period.
Nonetheless, last night my niece Alexis and myself decided to attempt to remove a badly restored handle that was added to this jug. The material seemed to have been some type of epoxy or resin. We actually preheated my kitchen oven to 350 degrees and put the jug inside of it for a few minutes. And to our surprise, the handle completely softened up and we were able to easily removed it in pieces. The jug still needs a little more cleaning around the area where the handle originally broke, although, this is our result! I think it looks a lot better without the handle!
A Marked 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug from Monmouth, Maine
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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