When I first established this website in January of 2013, I used to regularly post daily updates about my finds three times a year at the antique shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts, although I have not done that in a few years, but I have decided to revisit that concept again.
This is probably my favorite find over the past few days - this hand-painted and hand-thrown late nineteenth century red earthenware vase decorated with dogwood flowers was found by a dealer covered in grease along with dozens of other pieces of pottery that had been sitting for decades in a kitchen in an apartment in Manhattan. The vase is impressed on the base “Geo. F. Hamlyn / East Lake Pottery / Bridgeton, N.J.”
George Francis Hamlyn (1849-1923) was born in Philadelphia, and he may have trained there as well, however his father and mother migrated to the city from England, and Hamlyn is listed as a potter working in Haddonfield, New Jersey in 1880. Although, in the 1889-1890 Cumberland County City Directory, there is an advertisement that lists Hamlyn as the proprietor of the East Lake Pottery in southern New Jersey. He states that he is a “Manufacturer and Dealer in Stone, Earthen, Rockingham, and Terra Cotta Ware, Wholesale and Retail. Artistic and Unique Designs in Fancy Pottery made to order.”
The very few signed pieces that I have seen from Hamlyn and the East Lake Pottery are a group of chicken waterers, as well as a couple of pieces of household red earthenware which have a Philadelphia or southeastern Pennsylvania look to them. Nonetheless, this is the first example of fancyware from this business that I have ever seen. I also suspect the artwork is original to the East Lake Pottery - in fact, this may have even been a made to order piece. But I have no proof of that. The vase stands 9 1/2 inches tall.
This type of painted fancyware production also took place at other American pottery manufacturers during this period, such as the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts, the Chelsea Keramic Art Works in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the Speese family pottery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the Goodwin Brothers Pottery in West Hartford, Connecticut. But as I have already written, this is the first example that I have ever seen from Bridgeton, New Jersey.
The decoration on this vase is very well done and it has an appearance and style that is similar to some of the art pottery produced in Europe in the late 1800s, as well as in America. In fact, the dogwood flower decoration may predate this type of flower found on art pottery produced in Ohio and at the Newcomb Pottery in New Orleans, among other companies in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Note: I will post a follow up to this article showing another painted object found a few years ago near Bridgeton, New Jersey.
A 19th Century Painted Red Earthenware Fancyware Vase from Southern New Jersey
Late 19th Century Painted Red Earthenware Vase
Stamped on the Base “Geo. F. Hamlyn / East Lake Pottery / Bridgeton, N.J.”
The Dogwood Flower Painting May Have Been a Custom Order at the Pottery
My Feeling is that the Paint is Original to Production at the East Lake Pottery
But I Have No Proof of Who May Have Painted It
Circa 1890
Stands 9 1/2" Tall
See Article for More Information
Another View of Vase
The Vase was Recently Found in an Apartment Kitchen in Manhattan
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Another View of Vase
Similar Types of Painted Pottery were Created by Other American and European Potters
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A View of the Base
The Base is Stamped “Geo. F. Hamlyn / East Lake Pottery / Bridgeton, N.J.”
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A Closer View of the Stamped Base
The Stamp Reads “Geo. F. Hamlyn / East Lake Pottery / Bridgeton, N.J.”
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1880 United States Federal Census
Hamlyn is Listed as a Potter Working in Haddonfield, N.J.
His Father is Cited as Having Been Born in England
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Other Finds from the Antique Shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts
My other finds from Brimfield this week include a good hand-thrown circa 1930s chrome red earthenware vase from North Carolina. There is no maker’s mark, but it survives in excellent condition. The dealer told me he recently bought it out of a house in Connecticut, along with “a bunch of other stuff.”
20th Century Chrome Red Earthenware Vase Made in North Carolina
Circa 1930s
Stands 8 1/2" Tall
Recently Found in Connecticut
See Article for More Information
Furthermore, it was pouring two days ago in Brimfield, but still good picking in the rain; I found this giant hand-thrown earthenware Royal Crown Pottery floor vase, porch vase or jardiniere from Merry Oaks, North Carolina, circa 1939-1942. It is marked on the base in ink with the maker’s mark, and survives in excellent condition. This was from the same group of objects that were discovered in the Manhattan apartment, although the painted Hamlyn vase was not put out on the first day because of the rain.
20th Century Earthenware Floor Vase, Porch Vase or Jardiniere Made in Merry Oaks, N.C.
Stamped on the Base in Ink with the Royal Crown Pottery Company Mark
Recently Found in an Apartment in Manhattan
Circa 1939-1942
Stands 20" Tall
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And lastly,
English Jasperware is not something that I have ever really tried to buy before, but while walking around the rainy antique fields in Brimfield on Tuesday, I came across these three Wedgewood examples all being sold together for a very fair price. I ended up purchasing them, seeing that I have always admired the eighteenth century blue and white Wedgewood Jasperware vases that are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I asked the dealer if they came with any history, and she told me that they were recently found in an old estate in Buffalo, New York.
Each mid twentieth century or earlier vase is decorated with sprig molds of classical figures, although the Rosso Antico example shown in the center is a really good find (and the reason why I bought the group)! It retains a very old tag that indicates it originally sold at one point decades ago for $175. The dealer also suggested that these may have been bought brand new or around the time they were originally manufactured and have resided since then in the estate in Buffalo.
Group of Mid-20th Century or Earlier Wedgeood Jasperware Vases from England
The Rosso Antico Example in the Middle is a Really Good Find!
Middle Stands 12" Tall
All Recently Found in an Old Estate in Buffalo, New York
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Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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