An important sale of Virginia red earthenware and stoneware happened a few days ago on Friday September 27, 2024 at the Loudon County Fairgrounds in Leesburg, Virginia, when Damewood Auctioneers sold the estate of William C. Whitmore, who was a decendant of the Leesburg potter, Frederick W. Shafer (1819-1904). All of the red earthenware in the sale had descended since it was created through the Shafer family to the present-owner, all of which was published in the book, 2007 Edition of the Bulletin of the Loudoun County Historical Society, as a result of a major discovery of local history in 2006.
Born in Melsungen, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hesse, Germany on March 15, 1819, Shafer established his pottery business in Leesburg sometime between 1845-1850, continuing production into the 1880s. The 1900 United States Federal Census indicates that Shafer migrated to America in 1838, although he was not listed as a potter in that census. He seems to have produced both red earthenware and stoneware.
Interestingly, as I just noted, it was in 2006 that a large amount of Shafer Pottery was discovered in a small family shed owned by Whitmore. The shed had been locked for decades, although when Whitmore opened it for members from the Loudon Museum, they found inside of it all sorts of pottery made at Frederick Shafer's business in the 1800s. Many of these objects were also recorded and eventually photographed for publication in the 2007 book by the Loudoun Museum. In all, 101 pieces of pottery, involving 23 different types were inventoried. Some were one-of-a-kind items made for special purposes (see below); others varied in size and capacity.
According to the book, 2007 Edition of the Bulletin of the Loudoun County Historical Society, "Prior to this discovery, almost nothing was known about the manufacture of pottery in Loudon County. Census records provided a few names of potters in the county, but their output could not be identified, nor were the whereabouts of their kiln sites known."
Nonetheless a number of these discovered and published objects were sold as part of Whitmore's estate last week; those objects included a wide selection of household utilitarian red earthenware. However, a few of the most unusual pieces were a red earthenware flowerpot and an urn that were both adorned with applied decorations, somewhat similar to types manufactured by James Mackley and Anthony Baecher, among other potters working elsewhere in the southern part of the Mid-Atlantic region. The flowerpot sold $1,150 plus the buyer's premium, while the urn sold for $1,000 plus the buyer's premium. These were likely objects that Frederick made as special pieces for his wife Susannah Leazer Shafer (1823-1888).
Another object that I thought was notable from Shafer's production that was included in this sale was an unglazed red earthenware medallion of a mother (or madonna) and a child; it was marked on the back "C.S" and Carlton Shafer (1844-1906) was written in pencil, who was Frederick's son. The medallion sold for $475 plus the buyer's premium. This is one of two medallions like this found in the shed in 2006, while the other example was glazed.
The sale also included an unusual red earthenware mold of a horse, which was attributed to the Shafer Pottery; the mold sold for $650 plus the buyer's premium. This was also one of a pair that were found in the shed in 2006.
Frederick W. Shafer's Pottery Business in Leesburg, Virginia
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