EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: The Charlie Huntress Collection of Red Earthenware & Antiques that Sold Last Night in Limington, Maine

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

The Charlie Huntress Collection of Red Earthenware & Antiques that Sold Last Night in Limington, Maine

The Charlie Huntress Antiques Collection of Limington, Maine sold last night at an onsite online-only sale in Limington, which was hosted by Josh Gurley of the Gurley Antiques Gallery of Scarborough, Maine. I met Charle years ago, and sadly he recently passed away, but he was one of my biggest supporters when I first began writing about historical pottery and establishing this website more than ten years ago.

For years, there was never a week that went by, where I did not receive an email from Charlie asking about my latest find or what I was up to with my research; one of the objects that I found years ago in Exeter, New Hampshire was a spotted green glazed red earthenware milk pan from the 1800s. Charlie would often ask me about it, seeing that I believe it is related to archaeological evidence recovered on his neighbor's property, antiques dealer Bethany Kelly.

Charlie and his wife Gemma were extremely nice people; he was from Portland, Maine, while she was from Philadelphia and they both shared a passion for antiques. If you ever visited their house, then you probably know Charlie was perhaps the most prominent candlestick collector in America, owning over 600 pairs, dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century.

However, it may not be widely known that some of the red earthenware from the Huntress' Collection was published in some of the books in my ongoing book series, such as an important late eighteenth or early nineteenth century red earthenware pitcher adorned with a seal marked with initials that Charlie and his wife found beneath floor boards in their house in the 1970s. This pitcher is illustrated in my latest book, titled, From One Town Came Many: The Red Earthenware Industry in North Yarmouth, Maine, although I also recently posted a story about it to this website: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/09/an-early-marked-red-earthenware-pitcher.html. This book was also included in a group lot of books that sold last night, among a few other book titles that I have written, which brought $150 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/189385516_lot-of-18-books-relating-to-early-redware-stoneware-and-pottery.

This is Where Charlie and Gemma Huntress Lived in Limington, Maine

The House was Built in the 1790s by Jonathan Atkinson

More Information About the House: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/09/an-early-marked-red-earthenware-pitcher.html

See Article for More Information

Nevertheless, I did buy one object from this collection last night, which I suspect is a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century black glazed red earthenware pitcher possibly made in Philadelphia, which may have been inspired by production in Jackfield, England. I thought the form may have also been influenced by silver production, whereas this pitcher sold for $140 plus the buyer's premium.

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher

Form Possibly Inspired by Silver Production

Stands 6 7/8" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Gurley Antiques Gallery

Interestingly, an object that I did not realize Charlie owned until a few days ago was a heavily stamped small nineteenth century red earthenware salt dated "1836." I'm not sure where this object was made, although the Safford family in Monmouth, Maine was known for using a number of stamps. But I do not believe this is a known stamp they used, based on a jar in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which is thought to demonstrate the different types of stamps applied by the Saffords after 1830: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/14489.

The salt sold reasonably for $325 plus the buyer's premium.

19th Century Heavily Stamped Red Earthenware Salt Made in America

Dated on the Base "1836"

Measures 3" Across

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Gurley Antiques Gallery

Here are links to some of the other highlights in the sale:

1) Nineteenth century red earthenware butter stamp; sold for $700 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/187656723_19c-redware-butter-stamp

2) Nineteenth century red earthenware flowerpot from northern New England or New York, perhaps Maine; sold for $325 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188359294_redware-flower-pot-with-salmon-glaze

3) Nineteenth century red earthenware jug likely from northern New England; sold for $550 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188359996_handled-redware-ovoid-jug

4) Nineteenth century red earthenware pitcher from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, marked "Carey & Company; sold for $325 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188486240_handled-redware-pitcher-signed-carey-and-co

5) Two Nineteenth century slip decorated red earthenware bowls, one is likely European while the other is likely from the Shenandoah Valley; sold for $600 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188577358_lot-of-two-slip-glazed-redware-milk-pans

6) Early nineteenth century red earthenware pitcher made in South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts; sold for $650 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188620561_redware-pitcher-with-manganese-decoration-attributed-to-william-pecker-from-merrimacport-ma

7) Nineteenth century American red earthenware ring flask; sold for $500 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188709793_redware-ring-flask

8) Nineteenth century red earthenware jug from the John Corliss Pottery in Days Ferry, Woolwich, Maine; sold for $100 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188877467_redware-jug

9) Eighteenth or nineteenth century red earthenware mug from South Danvers (Peabody), Massachusetts; sold for $160 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/188877722_redware-mug

For the rest of the pottery in the sale - see the auction catalog: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/344017_the-collection-of-charlie-huntress/