This post is another preview of my forthcoming two-volume, 1,800+ page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/01/update-on-new-book-book-sent-to.html.
While researching the new book, I learned about three sherds kept at the Smithsonian which shed more light into the Salem to Somerset connection and Bristol County's flourishing red earthenware industry. Here is that story.
"...Recovered by Lura Woodside Watkins (1897–1982) at the Clark Purinton Junior (1753–1840) pottery site (active 1781–1817) in Somerset, Massachusetts, these ribbed red earthenware sherds provide a window into the daily life of the Somerset area. The horizontal grooves were likely formed by a potter’s tool as the vessel spun on the wheel—a practical detail possibly intended to provide a better grip during household use.
These mug or pitcher sherds were not just randomly picked up by Watkins; she knew what she was doing since they serve as key diagnostic markers for the various red earthenware pitchers from South Danvers (Peabody) and Bristol County discussed in Chapters 3 and 6 in Volume I of this book, which may have been inspired by Bristol salt-glazed stoneware. These types of ribbed mugs and pitchers are recognized today adorned in a diverse spectrum of glazes, ranging from deep blacks and greens to a variety of other vibrant colors.Clark Purinton Junior was the grandson of Daniel Purinton (1710–1764), who was living in Salem, Massachusetts, when he married into the Osborne family pottery dynasty in 1726; Daniel was also an early settler of the Pottersville section of Somerset. Clark Purinton Junior was the son of Clark Purinton Senior (1729–1797), who established the family’s presence in the area by the mid-1700s. While the Chace family is credited with opening Somerset's first pottery around 1705, Clark Purinton Senior built one of the area’s most influential red earthenware businesses that helped define the town's central industrial hub. Clark Purinton Junior eventually expanded this family legacy by partnering with Asa Chace (1777-1858) in the early 1800s, a move that solidified Somerset’s reputation as a premier center for New England red earthenware, which was later followed by the production of stoneware.
Another significant find from the Clark Junior site is a slip decorated red earthenware pan sherd that closely resembles a small group of Bristol County pans. The geometric designs that adorend these objects likely allowed Quaker potters to balance aesthetic appeal with the Testimony of Plainness, a core principle of simplicity that has guided the Religious Society of Friends since the seventeenth century."
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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