An Update on My Forthcoming 527-Page Book About Red Earthenware Production in the Hartford, Connecticut Area

It has been a little while since I provided an update about my forthcoming sixth book, titled, A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area - whereas, the 527-page book is finished and will hopefully be at the printer very soon. In fact, this wonderful nineteenth century red earthenware jar was just discovered by a picker in Connecticut and these are the final two pictures that I added to the book.

The jar is prominently stamped "T O GOODWIN," representing Thomas O'Hara Goodwin's (1796-1880) pottery business in the Elmwood section of West Hartford, Connecticut about 1825 or so. Thomas O'Hara was from the famed Goodwin family of potters - he was the second generation of family potters in the city, producing both red earthenware and stoneware, and utilizing this stamp on both types of pottery.

The book will include chapters on pottery production (and lots of archaeology and paper records) in the Hartford area before the American Revolution, at the site of the Richard Pitkin Glassworks after 1783 in East Hartford, red earthenware made by the Seymour family, pottery production by the Goodwin family, plenty of never before published archaeology from eighteenth and nineteenth century sites in the Hartford area, some incredible archaeology from sites along the Connecticut River, red earthenware made by Hervey Brooks (1779-1873), red earthenware made by Captain John Norton (1758-1828) in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, some previously unknown red earthenware production in the Harford area, as well as a lot more! 

The list of museums and archaeology departments that contributed to the book is long - but they include: Connecticut Landmarks, the Haddam, Connecticut Historical Society, the Old Manchester Museum in Connecticut, Old Sturbridge Village, the Phelps-Hathaway House in Connecticut, Historic Deerfield, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, the Webb-Deane-Stevens House in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the Noah Webster House & the West Hartford Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Connecticut Historical Society, among others. A number of great objects from private collections located all over the country will also be illustrated throughout the book!

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Marked "T O GOODWIN"

Made at the Thomas O'Hara Goodwin Pottery in West Hartford, Connecticut

Recently Discovered in Connecticut

Circa 1825 or So

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Jeff Pudlinski

A View of the Mark

Impressed "T O GOODWIN"

Photo Courtesy: Jeff Pudlinski

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