Among the subjects that will be covered in my now finished forthcoming 675-page New Hampshire book, titled, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses, is the amount of red earthenware and stoneware that was shipped to the state in the 1700s and 1800s. One of the businesses that may have capitalized with its close location to the New Hampshire border and access to waterways (or shipping routes) was the potteries that operated in South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts in the eighteenth and nineteenth century; those potters included Benjamin Bodge (1747-1822) in the 1700s, William Pecker (1757-1820) in the 1790s through 1820, followed by successive generations of the Chase family, which lasted into the 1880s. Although, Pecker’s production is probably the most notable, seeing that not only has his red earthenware been found in many different contexts in the state, but some of the stoneware he made in South Amesbury has also been found in New Hampshire.
Interestingly, there has been speculation through the years where Pecker learned how to make stoneware; however, it seems that he trained in New York City in the early 1800s, alongside the Crolius family, the Remmey family, David Morgan and the famed free African-American potter Thomas Commeraw (ca. 1771-1823). This information is found published in a listing of potters in Longworth's American Almanack, New York Register, and City Directory, 1805; also take note that Morgan and Commeraw's names are misspelled in the directory.
I also learned last night from Long Island researcher and collector Chris Pickerell that he has found William Pecker listed in New York City Directories from the 1802-1807 period. It is after he left New York City that Pecker began to produce stoneware in South Amesbury sometime before he died, as a result of a kiln collapse in 1820.
Furthermore, this stoneware jug will also be included in the book, seeing that it was found in a context of ownership in New Hampshire; it is marked with an impressed upside down "Wm PECKER," and a "2" for the gallon capacity.
Note: For more information - see my fourth published book, titled, South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery: https://historicbeverly.net/product/south-amesburys-red-earthenware-stoneware-production/.
Also see a feature story that I wrote for the April 23, 2023 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, William Pecker: A Massachusetts Red Earthenware & New York City Stoneware Potter: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/04/new-published-story-in-antiques-arts.html.
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