A Five-Gallon 19th Century Crock from the J.&E. Norton Pottery in Bennington, Vermont Decorated in Cobalt with Two Deer and the Face of a Clock

I posted a story to this website a few months ago about a very good four-gallon mid-nineteenth century cobalt decorated stoneware crock made at the Julius (1809-1861) and Edward Norton (1815-1885) Pottery in Bennington, Vermont, circa 1850-1859. The crock was decorated with a bird and a floral scene created by James Reiley, who is likely better known today for the wares he decorated in New York, although this is a significant object that demonstrates Reiley's employment in Bennington in the 1850s; it was also stamped "J.&E. NORTON / BENNINGTON, VT." This crock is now heading to Adam Weitsman's Collection at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/10/an-outstanding-folk-art-crock-depicting.html.

Unbeknownst to me, or at least something I do not remember seeing before is another object made at the Julius and Edward Norton Pottery in Bennington; I was recently shown this card by longtime stoneware collector and dealer Richard Hume Sr. The card is from Dominick Cervone, a stoneware collector at the time, although he is probably better known today for American Indian and Ethnographic Art. 

The card shows a five-gallon nineteenth century stoneware crock that is adorned with an elaborate scene in cobalt, depicting two deer and the face of a clock, which reads, "2:55." The crock is stamped "J.&E. NORTON / BENNINGTON, VT," whereas it is unclear to me if there is a hidden meaning, but the first mass-produced clocks in America were made in the 1850s; there is also some speculation that the time may have something to do with the railroad in Bennington.

Nonetheless, this crock is privately owned today and was found decades ago in a basement in Vermont.

Five-Gallon 19th C. Crock from the J.&E. Norton Pottery in Bennington, VT

This Card Shows a Five-Gallon Crock Made in Bennington, Vermont in the 1850s

Decorated in Cobalt with Two Deer and the Face of a Clock

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