It was about a decade ago that New York State stoneware collector Adam Weitsman acquired a major piece of nineteenth century cobalt-decorated stoneware made in Flemington, New Jersey from Allen Katz Americana in Woodbridge, Connecticut, which was then added to his already massive stoneware collection at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York.
According to a press release issued on April 11, 2013 by the New York State Museum, "The acrobat jug, a sought-after example of decorated American stoneware, has been breaking stoneware record prices at auction for decades and Weitsman had wanted the piece for over thirty years.
The four-gallon stoneware jug depicting acrobats was manufactured by the Fulper Bros.; Abraham Fulper (1815-1881) produced an assortment of earthenware, stoneware and tile products at his Flemington business in the 1860s and 1870s. After his death, his sons continued the pottery, and during the 1880s, the company became known as Fulper Bros. or Fulper Bros. & Co., whereas Fulper Bros. stoneware often featured unique decorations. The acrobats on this jug may have been inspired by a traveling circus or performers at the nearby annual agricultural Flemington Fair."
Furthermore, the nineteenth century history of the Fulper brothers dates back to 1814, when the business was established by Samuel Hill (1793-1858), a potter originally from New Brunswick, New Jersey, who founded the Hill Pottery on the corner of Main and Mine Streets in Flemington. Although, the pottery was purchased in 1858 by Abram Fulper, a nephew who then changed the name to Fulper Pottery. The business continued well into the twentieth century under various owners and name changes, and through the span of all this made a wide variety of products from different types of clay.
Nevertheless, last night I was very surprised to learn about this circa 1880s stoneware crock that is privately owned; I had never seen this object before, which is inscribed in cobalt script, "Fine Butter," and features a cobalt decoration of a woman making butter with a butter churn. The crock is stamped "Fulper Bros. / Flemington, N.J.," and was acquired by the current owners at Horst Auctions in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in the 1990s.
However, in consideration of the jug that was acquired by Adam Weitsman, where the decoration is thought to have been inspired by actual events, then I wonder what the background story of this decoration might be. Could it be merely a decoration or is there more of a background story?
For instance, displayed in the William and Susan Mariner Collection at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Mariner is an eleven-inch tall nineteenth century stoneware churn decorated with an elaborate scene made by Thomas Mitchell Chandler Jr. (1810-1854) for his aunt and uncle in Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, the churn was acquired by the Mariners directly from descendant's of the family, where it had resided since 1829, and is undoubtedly one of the most important examples of southern pottery in existence. Afterwards, Chandler migrated south for employment in Edgefield, South Carolina, which he has garnered some fame for today.
According to information published in an article written by Katherine C. Hughes for the Journal of Southern Decorative Arts, "The churn displays an agricultural landscape, with a detailed farmhouse, outbuilding, cow, five trees, and a woman churning butter in her own decorated churn. The churn is marked on its side "Mitchel Chandler" and the year "1829", and inscribed on the bottom "Thomas M. Chandler / Maker / Baltimore / August 12 / 1829."The scene decorating the butter churn illustrates a landscape and lifestyle once found in nineteenth century small towns all over Accomack County on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Family lore, and the churn itself, tells us that Thomas made the churn for his Uncle Mitchell Chandler and Mitchell's sister Rosey Chandler Fitzgerald (1772-1858). Although Thomas Chandler's family had moved from the Shore to the City of Baltimore in 1817, it seems that young Thomas would often return to visit his extended family. The story handed down with the churn, generation after generation, is that when Thomas would return to the Shore, his Aunt Rosey would make him gifts of homemade butter, rolls, and biscuits to take back to the big city. As a thank you, Thomas made her the churn, decorated with her likeness."
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