A 19th Century Red Earthenware Mug Recently Found in an Old House in Goshen, Connecticut

While walking around the antique shows this week in Brimfield, Massachusetts, I was surprised to find this mottled green glazed nineteenth century red earthenware mug; I asked the dealer if it came with any known history, and he said it did not, but it was just found in an old house in Goshen, Connecticut.

This small bit of information piqued my interest seeing that Hervey Brooks (1779-1873) operated a red earthenware business in Goshen in the 1800s. In fact, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and the Litchfield, Connecticut Historical Society have preserved a great deal of information related to Brooks' career, including his account books that reveal he was also a farmer, and many years he only fired his kiln once. Much of his later production was also devoted to the manufacture of drain pipe and chimney flues, among other unglazed and simple glazed wares. Overall, these type of wares like like mug are extremely rare to find from Brooks today, some of which are also decorated in slip.

Interestingly, the form of this mug closely matches the only other mug that I know about that survives from Brooks today; the other slightly smaller mug is owned by the Litchfield Historical Society, having descended in the Brooks family. Wares made by Hervey Brooks can also be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, among other art museums.

Nonetheless, this was a very good find and it will be included in my forthcoming book, A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area.

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Mug Recently Found in an Old House in Goshen, CT

Early to Mid 19th Century Mottled Green Glazed Red Earthenware Mug

Probably Made at the Hervery Brooks Pottery in Goshen, CT

Recently Discovered in an Old House in Goshen, CT

Form is Similar to a Smaller Mug Made by Brooks in the Litchfield, CT Historical Society

Stands 6 3/8" Tall

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Another View of the Mug

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View of the Handle

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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...