New Published Story: The Galloway Terra-Cotta Company of Philadelphia: A Brief Examination

My latest research article is published in the February 3, 2023 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, The Galloway Terra-Cotta Company of Philadelphia: A Brief Examination. There's also a fun New York City angle to this story!

There are also additional pictures published in the online version of the story: https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/The-Galloway-Terra–Cotta-Company-Of-Philadelphia/

The Galloway Terra-Cotta Company of Philadelphia: A Brief Examination

The Galloway Terra-Cotta Company of Philadelphia: A Brief Examination

Published in the February 3, 2023 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

See Article for More Information

The Galloway Terra-Cotta Company of Philadelphia: A Brief Examination

Published in the February 3, 2023 Issue of Antiques & Auction News

See Article for More Information

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

New Stoneware Exhibit -- Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw

The new Thomas Commeraw stoneware exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan, Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw is excellent! I viewed it yesterday and I must say that it is definitely worth the trip/visit to see! There are currently articles published in the January 27, 2023 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly and the January/February 2023 issue of The Magazine Antiques about Commeraw and the exhibit. 

And if you do not already own it - be sure to pick up Brandt Zipp's new landmark book in the museum's gift ship, titled, Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner.

Note: The exhibit will be heading to the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York later this year.

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

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New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

New Exhibit at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan

Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw 

See Article for More Information

Brandt Zipp's Book: Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner

And an Article About Commeraw Written by Mark Shapiro for the Current Issue of The Magazine Antiques

Both Are Available in the NYHS Gift Shop

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Brandt Zipp's Book: Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner

Available in the NYHS Gift Shop

See Article for More Information

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

An Outstanding Example of a Drip or Overflow Glazed Floor Vase From Zanesville, Ohio Found on the New Hampshire Seacoast

This is the best example of Zanesville, Ohio stoneware that I have ever seen in New England, which I suspect dates from the circa 1920s-1950 period, standing about seventeen inches tall. It survives in outstanding condition with an incredible blue, green and white drip glaze over yellow.

According to an article written by James L. Murphy for the Journal of the American Art Pottery Association, titled, Zanesville Stoneware Company: After 115 Years -- "The Zanesville Stoneware Co., Ohio's longest-lived stoneware pottery closed its doors this spring, after 115 years of continuous operation - 113 of those years by three generations of the Milman Linn family, at two different locations. At 71, Milman “Bud” Linn determined it was time to retire. His son Andrew, manager and vice president of sales, decided not to continue the enterprise. The pottery has been sold to Robinson-Ransbottom Potteries of nearby Roseville, Ohio.

The Zanesville Stoneware story began in 1883 with the formation of the Ohio Encaustic Tile Co., a would-be rival to Zanesville's famous American Encaustic Tiling Co. Matters did not go well for this fledgling decorative tile factory. It was abandoned by 1886. A new firm, E. G. Bowen and Co., began operation at the site on Coopermill Road the following year. In 1889 it was reorganized as the Zanesville Stoneware Co. At this point, Milman Linn, Sr., joined the company as vice-president. He quickly rose to become president. Originally, the pottery produced a standard line of crocks, churns, jugs, stew pans, butter jars, and milk pans, as well as a stenciled stoneware two-part water filter that remained in production for many years. Although their Albany slip-covered milk crock was elaborately marked on the bottom with large raised letters, most of the ware was unmarked. When it was marked, a cobalt stencil was generally applied in a rather sloppy manner, so leaving many of the stenciled crocks with an almost illegible cobalt mark.

Zanesville Stoneware was the first pottery in Ohio to use a muffle updraft kiln, which protected the ware from direct flame and made for more even burning. In 1889, a state factory inspector listed the firm as employing 25, who were making stoneware and flowerpots. By 1901, the pottery employed 50 men and one woman.

Around 1910, the company began the manufacture of garden ware and shortly thereafter developed a fine matte green glaze. Following World War I, it expanded its glaze lines, to include a variety of drip and multicolored “overflow” glazes. One of the company's first unusual glazes was a light gray with dark blue drip, with pieces occasionally marked “ZASKO” (ZAnesville Stoneware KOmpany) in tiny vertical impressed letters. One of the pottery's most popular shapes, a simple tapered vase with large molded leaf, (Shape #102) dates to this early period and can be found with many different glazes, though not Zasko. Matt green was tremendously popular at the time. Zanesville Stoneware products with this glaze still command premium prices today.

Some Zanesville Stoneware glazes were as unusual as their names—Verdantone (green flow over a gray base), Brunell (brown with light splashes), Vorosa (rose flow over ivory), Ebonello (black flow over yellow), Vulcan (reddish tan blend), Neptune (green with rust mottling), Bacorcy (black flow over light green), Montrose (rose mottling on ivory background), and one named Ebonivor (black flow over white)—which was apparently not all that popular, for examples are not common today. Exceptional glazes are Neptune and Vulcan, as well as a tremendous variety of experimental drip glazes.

For a short period the company offered one of its most artistic lines, “Rubble Ware,” which featured a cobblestone like effect as background for various designs. This line was offered only in matt lavender, matt blue, gloss green and gloss blue. Examples of Rubble Ware in any color are quite scarce today.

By 1921, there were 100 employees, mostly men. Along with the artware, stoneware filters, cuspidors, flower pots and jardinieres were still being made. In the late 1920s, tea sets were produced in a variety of colors. Although the company continued production of standard stoneware crocks, jugs, and kitchenware into the 1920s, including the decorated water filters featured on their letterhead, it was about this time that garden and patio ware also became very fashionable. Zanesville Stoneware began specializing in this product and never stopped—until this year.

A Harrop tunnel kiln was built in 1932 and the plant was enlarged in 1953. Although later wares were frequently embossed “ZSC” on the base, most Zanesville Stoneware is marked only by an impressed shape number. This, along with the usually strong mold mark bisecting the base, the general klunkiness of the pieces, familiarity with ZSC shapes and glazes, as well as referencing copies of old ZSC catalogs, usually make identification easy. Some pieces were even made for specific florists and potteries, such as Zanesville’s Marco Pottery and The Old Pot Shop of Norwalk, Connecticut.

Long after other potteries had abandoned the art of throwing, “Hank” (Lawrence F.) Pickrull, continued to throw large pieces of garden ware. Pickrull, who began throwing for ZSC in 1908, retired in 1946, but not before he posed for a series of photographs for Claude Horan's Ohio State University M.A. thesis. Zanesville Stoneware had a long-standing relationship with Ohio State's ceramics program. Arthur DeVol, son of Edward M. DeVol, an early plant superintendent and later vice-president, graduated from Ohio State and became ZSC's ceramics engineer. Many of the unusual glazes used by the company were developed by the two DeVols."

Note: The Zanesville Museum of Art owns and displays a variety of objects made at the Zanesville Stoneware Company in the 1920s-1930s with an overflow glaze, although nothing exactly like this object. The closest are two forest green overflow vases displayed on the first floor of the museum's Longberger Art Research Library -- vase number 1 -- vase number two.

Drip or Overflow Glazed Floor Vase From Zanesville, Ohio

Outstanding Drip or Overflow Glazed Stoneware Floor Vase

Attributed to the Zanesville Stoneware Company in Ohio

 Possibly Circa 1920s-1950

Stands 17" Tall

The Base is Marked "847"

Found Last Night in a Shop on the N.H. Seacoast

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Another View of the Floor Vase

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Another View of the Floor Vase

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Another View of the Floor Vase

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A View of the Interior

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A View of the Base

It is Marked "847"

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

My New Book -- A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area

This is very exciting! The proof copy of my forthcoming 540-page, sixth book, titled, A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area came back from the printer yesterday (I know there is a mistake with the title on the cover page). 

I worked with dozens of museums and archaeology departments on this book, mainly in New England and Connecticut, but also the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., as well as others. 

Among the subjects that the book introduces is tons of never before published artifacts recovered by archaeologists and museums throughout the Hartford and Connecticut River region areas, spanning from the circa 1740s to the early 1900s period. There is also some great New York City material!

For those interested: the book will be available directly from my publisher Historic Beverly for $50 plus shipping, although it will also be carried by various retailers across the country.

A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area

Proof Copy of My Forthcoming 540-Page 6th Book

A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area

Available Soon from Historic Beverly in Mass. and Various Retailers Across the Country

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Another View of the Book

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A View of the Back Cover

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A Closer View of the Back Cover

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This is My Published Book Series To Date

More Books Are in the Works

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

An Outstanding Moravian Fish Bottle Sells for Six Figures Yesterday at Sotheby's in New York City

According to the book, Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware, "Moravian potters in North Carolina made press-molded earthenware for more than one hundred twenty-five years. The range of forms documented by surviving objects, molds, and references in pottery inventories is far greater than that of any contemporary American ceramic tradition. From smoking pipes to stove tiles, the Moravian potters in Bethabara (historic area in Salem-Winston, North Carolina) and Salem, North Carolina expanded the production of press-molded earthenware to include figural bottles and castors, non-figural bottles, and toys. Rudolph Christ (1750-1833) can be credited for the successful production and marketing of press-molded figural wares during his tenure as master of pottery at Salem (1789-1821).

Of all the figural bottles produced in Salem, fish survive in the greatest number. Most are glazed green on the outside but examples decorated in tortoiseshell colors are known. Fish appear in the April 30, 1801 inventory of the Salem pottery valued at 1 shilling 6 pence each. Three sizes were available the following year, and by 1806 the pottery was producing four patterns - the number represented by surviving molds listed in the 1828 inventory."

Nevertheless, this large tortoiseshell glazed fish bottle sold yesterday at Sotheby's in New York City, and with a pre-auction estimate of $12,000-$18,000, it must have set a record when there were still five phone bidders left at $50,000, eventually selling for $138,600. Related examples can be found displayed in the William and Susan Mariner Southern Ceramics Gallery at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, among other art museums. 

The fish was sold as part of the Charles (1935-2019) and Olenka Santore (1942-2019) Collection; Charles was a Philadelphia illustrator, where the couple collected antiques together for about fifty years. Santore, who died in 2019 just months after Olenka passed, was a well-known illustrator of picture books, including Alice in Wonderland, the Wizard of Oz, and The Night Before Christmas, as well as a series of iconic cover illustrations for TV Guide which are now in the collection of the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia.

Although, part of the reason why this object brought such a strong price is because of its size, glaze and condition, whereas the majority of Moravian fish bottles in existence are found in a 4 1/2 inch size in green glaze. This bottle measures 9 3/4 inches in length. A very similar example like this one sold at Crocker Farm in Maryland in November of 2013 for $23,000.

Furthermore, a similar auction result with a green glazed 4 1/2 inch fish bottle happened at Sotheby's in January of 2014, when it sold for $53,125 from the collection of Ralph C. Esmerian.

Note: The sale also featured a wonderful nineteenth century red earthenware lion bank and pen and ink stand from Pennsylvania that sold reasonably at $3,150.

An Outstanding Moravian Fish Bottle From Salem, N.C.

19th Century Earthenware Fish Bottle with a Tortoiseshell Glaze

Attributed to Rudolph Christ in Salem, North Carolina

Circa 1801-1825

Measures 9 3/4" Long

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Sotheby's

Another View of the Object

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Photo Courtesy: Sotheby's

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

A Heavily Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Flowerpot or Urn Just Discovered in Western Pennsylvania

I think this is a fascinating discovery that was just made by Nick Evanchec in Western Pennsylvania, whereas at first glance, this heavily slip-decorated red earthenware flowerpot or urn may look like it is from Continental Europe, however the more I look at the pictures, the more the pot resembles to me like wares made in southeastern Pennsylvania or thereabouts from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. And while others made this type of slipware throughout this part of Pennsylvania, elsewhere in the Mid Atlantic region and in parts of the South - I did write an article last year that was published as the cover story for the May 27, 2022 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Christian Kilinker: A Pioneer German Potter From Bucks County, Pa.

Link to the story: https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/Christian-Klinker%3A-A-Pioneer-German-Potter-From-Bucks-County%2C-Pa~/

A Heavily Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Flowerpot or Urn

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Flowerpot or Urn

Recently Found in Western Pennsylvania

Possibly Made in Pennsylvania

Possibly Circa 1780-1830

Stands About 6 1/2" Tall and 6" Across

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Photo Courtesy: Nick Evanchec

Another View of the Flowerpot or Urn

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Photo Courtesy: Nick Evanchec

Another View of the Flowerpot or Urn

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Photo Courtesy: Nick Evanchec

Another View of the Flowerpot or Urn

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Photo Courtesy: Nick Evanchec

A View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: Nick Evanchec

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

A Circa 1791-1820 Red Earthenware Handled Pot from South Amesbury, Mass. That Recently Sold in Pennsylvania

A variety of antique and modern American red earthenware sold last Friday and Saturday at Horst Auctions winter antique & Americana auction in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Although, one particular object stood out to me that sold on Saturday January 14, 2023, a circa 1791 to 1820 red earthenware handled pot, often referred to as a stew pot, which is attributed to the William Pecker (1757-1820) Pottery in South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts. 

For more information about the potteries in South Amesbury/Merrimacport, I suggest my fourth book published by Historic Beverly in Massachusetts, titled, South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware Production: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery.

A Circa 1791-1820 Red Earthenware Handled Pot from South Amesbury, Mass.

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Handled Pot or Stew Pot

Attributed to the William Pecker Pottery in South Amesbury, Mass.

Circa 1791-1820

Stands 5" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Horst Auctions

Another View of the Object

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Photo Courtesy: Horst Auctions

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

An Outstanding Pitcher Just Discovered from the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts

This was unbelievable!!! So a good friend from the Berkshires in Massachusetts called me last night saying he was in the area and he wanted to stop by and compare a piece of pottery that he just bought to some I own. I didn’t think much of it. But he said he was nearby and he would be at my house in a few minutes. 

He ends up pulling out this pitcher from a brown paper bag made at the Charles A. Lawrence (1829-1904) Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts, circa 1860s. I was shocked because there are only a few of these known to exist in this larger size, standing 7 1/4 inches tall. He then tells me that he just bought it in the area that I live in a collectible type shop. Unreal!! In my opinion, this is some of the best utilitarian pottery made in Massachusetts in the 1800s. The pitcher survives in great condition with no slip loss, just a few rim chips on one side.

For more information — see my first book published by Historic Beverly, titled, The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence — https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-beverly-pottery-the-wares-of-charles-a-lawrence/.

Note: The last example of this type of pitcher to sell was about one-half an inch smaller in height, and it sold at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates in Virginia in 2021. The pitcher previously sold at Sotheby's in New York City in 1991, and before that was owned by Barry Cohen in Manhattan.

 An Outstanding Pitcher from the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pitcher

Made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

Circa 1860s

Stands 7 1/4" Tall

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Another View of the Pitcher

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Another View of the Pitcher

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A View of the Handle

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A View of the Interior

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A View of the Base

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

Recent Discovery: A Green Glazed Ming Bowl from Jugtown, Seagrove, North Carolina

This is another example of pottery from Jugtown, Seagrove, North Carolina that I recently discovered - the twentieth century bowl is modeled after objects manufactured during the Ming Dynasty in China and decorated in a frog skin green glaze. The base is impressed "JUGTOWN WARE."

Extensive research was done by Jacques Busbee (1870-1947), the original owner of the Jugtown Pottery, who created many of the colors for the business. Pots glazed in frog skin glaze are coated with the same glaze as seen in the pottery’s Teadust glaze, only Frogskin is fired in the third or fourth chamber of the wood kiln, where salt was added at the very end of a firing. The sodium in the salt reacts the way bleach works on clothing—it bleaches the iron-rich glaze and creates an olive green to mustard colored finish, with a glossy surface. Historically, many of the potters in the Seagrove area became aware of a natural clay from Albany, New York (known as Albany slip) that could be used as a glaze. They began to use this natural clay as a glaze, throwing salt into the kiln at the very end of a firing in order to get the aptly named “frog skin” green-to-mustard color and glossy surface.

A Green Glazed Ming Bowl from Jugtown, Seagrove, North Carolina

(Left) 20th Century Stoneware Bowl Inspired by the Ming Dynasty in China

Decorated in a Frog Skin Glaze

Impressed on the Base "JUGTOWN WARE"

Measures 4 1/2" in Diameter

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Another View of the Bowl

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A View of the Base

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A View of the Mark

Impressed "JUGTOWN WARE"

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

A Newly Acquired Han Vase from Jugtown in Seagrove, North Carolina

When I started actively looking for twentieth century North Carolina art pottery in the northeast about six months ago with my niece Alexis - my goal was to learn about the material, a subject that I knew very little about, as well as to see what I could find. My reasoning was that I knew a great amount of it was imported to the northeast in the early years of production, mainly through a store in Manhattan, and later by way of another store in Cambridge, Mass.

It is kind of funny, though because I think we have covered pretty much the entire region, although I never thought I would find any of the Han jars that were made at Jugtown in Seagrove, North Carolina in the 1920s and 1930s. These objects were modeled after actual ancient Chinese vases displayed during this period at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Nonetheless, I acquired my third prized example the other day - a dogwood white glazed vase that was modeled after ancient glazes produced in Japan and China. The base is impressed, "JUGTOWN WARE."

A Newly Acquired Han Vase from Jugtown in Seagrove, North Carolina

Han Vases Made in Seagrove, North Carolina in the 1920s-1930s

Each is Impressed on the Base "JUGTOWN WARE"

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Dogwood White Glazed Han Vase Made at Jugtown in Seagrove, North Carolina

The Glaze is Modeled After Japanese and Chinese Glazes

Impressed on the Base "JUGTOWN WARE"

Circa 1920s-1930s

Stands 12 1/8" Tall

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Another View of the Vase

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Another View of the Vase

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A View of the Base

The Base is Impressed on the Base "JUGTOWN WARE"

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A View of the "JUGTOWN WARE" Mark

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

An Outstanding Glazed Red Earthenware Vase Recently Found in Pottersville, New Jersey

This is an outstanding green and yellow glazed nineteenth or early twentieth century double-handled American red earthenware vase that I just picked up, and coincidentally, it was recently discovered in Pottersville, New Jersey, which is located to the west of New York City. 

Even though I am not positive of it - my feeling is that this vase was made in New England during the circa 1870-1920 period, although I am not sure of the business. My best guess at the moment is that it may have been made in Massachusetts, but I am not positive where it was manufactured. I have never seen anything exactly like it before! The glaze is really something else! 

Note: I want to mention that I acquired a similar glazed earthenware vase a few years ago that is attributed to the Thomas Humberstone Pottery in North York, Toronto in Ontario, Canada, but I do not believe this object is related.

Outstanding Glazed Red Earthenware Vase Recently Found in Pottersville, N.J.

My Dog Jack Pictured with the Vase

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19th or Early 20th Century American Red Earthenware Vase

The Green and Yellow Glaze is Really Great

Recently Found in Pottersville, New Jersey

Likely Circa 1870-1920

Stands 10 1/8" Tall

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Another View of the Vase

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A View of One Handle

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A View of the Other Handle

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A View of the Interior

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A View of the Base

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