Displayed at the State House in Hartford, Connecticut is one of the best late eighteenth or early nineteenth century red earthenware jars known to exist today from the industry in Bristol County, Massachusetts, circa 1780-1830. The glaze has just about every color and characteristic that one would look for today in wares made in this region; green, black streaks, orange, pink and a mottled effect. It is truly a work of art.
The jar is on display from the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, although the jar was gifted to the museum from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Howard Bulkeley Haylett. It was acquired by the museum the year Dr. Haylett (1884-1957) died in 1957. He was born on July 24, 1884 in Hartford. He was a graduate from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 1907, and a consultant of medicine on the staff of the Hartford Hospital.
Furthermore, it seems that Dr. Haylett was an avid antiques collector during the first half of the 1900s, some of which ended up in the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society, although this appears to be the only example of red earthenware in his collection. It certainly makes me wonder if Albert Hastings Pitkin (1852-1917) had any influence on him with red earthenware, seeing that Pitkin was an early American collector living in Hartford. Pitkin's collection is owned today by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of of Art in Hartford.
For more information about Pitkin, see a feature story I wrote for the April 12, 2019 issue of Antiques & Auctions News, titled, The Albert Hastings Pitkin Collection: https://antiquesandauctionnews.net/articles/The-Albert-Hastings-Pitkin-Collection/. Also see my sixth book, titled, A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-city-on-the-river-the-early-red-earthenware-of-the-hartford-connecticut-area/.
Note: For more information about red earthenware made in Bristol County, see my fifth book, titled, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/.
An Outstanding Red Earthenware Jar from Bristol County, Mass.
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