This nineteenth century stoneware water cooler sold at Cottone Auctions in Geneseo, New York on May 21, 2009 for $57,500 plus the buyer's premium to New Oxford, Pennsylvania antiques dealer Kelly Kinzle. However, I later saw it in-person sometime thereafter during Antiques Week in New Hampshire.
The cooler is impressed "TYLER & DILLON / ALBANY," which represents the mark of Moses Tyler (1794-1846) and Charles Dillon (d. 1842) during the circa 1825-1834 period in Albany, New York. Previous to this partnership, Tyler is listed as a potter in Albany from 1822-1826, where he eventually took over the firm of Calvin Boynton & Company, and operated as Tyler and Dillon.
Furthermore, this cooler is decorated with a very impressive incised cobalt bird and flower decoration, and inscribed with the name "L. PADDOCK." Loveland Paddock (1794-1872) was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1794, although he came to Watertown, New York in 1807 to work for his brother John (1776-1816) in the family business known as Paddock & Smith Mercantile. The firm amassed a great amount of wealth during the War of 1812, supplying the Army and Navy at Sackets Harbor. He took over the partnership in 1816 when John died. In the 1820s, Paddock began investing in real estate, becoming one of the wealthiest men in Jefferson County, New York during the first half of the nineteenth century.
Paddock was also a financier and entrepreneur, and he was involved in numerous ventures, where one of his most notable achievements was his founding of the Black River Bank in 1844, of which he served as president.
However, Paddock's legacy probably lies in the Paddock Arcade. During the rebuilding of Watertown after the Great Fire of 1849, Paddock commissioned architect Otis Wheelock (1816-1893) to design and build the arcade and the adjoining Paddock Building. Paddock had taken notice of a photo of the Beauharnais Arcade in Paris, France. This famous "glass covered street" struck Paddock, who wanted to build one in Watertown. Nonetheless, the arcade opened in 1850, whereas today the arcade carries the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating covered mall in the United States.
Interestingly, this cooler was also actually just rediscovered in 2009 at an on-site estate auction near Carthage, New York. It was thought to have been found during auction setup the morning of the sale, and later consigned by the winning bidder to Cottone Auctions.
Additionally, it certainly makes me question what this cooler would sell for in today's stoneware market; for instance, another stoneware water cooler bearing this same maker's mark inscribed with a fish and the word "BRANDY" sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in July of 2015 for $92,000, including the buyer's premium. It was the first time this object had been sold publicly, where it was previously found by the consignor's family in an attic in New York in the 1950s. There is also a related object owned by the Albany Institute of History & Art: https://www.albanyinstitute.org/collection/details/stoneware-brandy-keg.
An Important 19th Century Stoneware Water Cooler from N.Y.
19th Century Stoneware Water Cooler from New York
Impressed "TYLER & DILLON / ALBANY"
Estimated to be 8-Gallons in Size
Inscribed "L. PADDOCK" for Loveland Paddock (1794-1872)
Circa 1825-1834
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Photo Courtesy: Cottone Auctions
Another View of the Cooler
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Photo Courtesy: Kelly Kinzle
This is Loveland Paddock (1794-1872)
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The Loveland Paddock Arcade in 1909 in Watertown, New York
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