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, my niece Alexis and I stumbled upon an unexpected archaeological opportunity back in January 2017, which allowed us to rescue hundreds of artifacts that add to the narrative of the Osborn pottery dynasty in South Danvers (Peabody). Here is that story.
"...It was a total coincidence, but my niece Alexis and I ended up going on the same kind of salvage adventures that Lura Woodside Watkins (1897-1982) once wrote about in Early New England Potters and Their Wares. While driving through the old Osborn neighborhood on Central Street in Peabody, Massachusetts in January 2017—the heart of the massive Quaker pottery dynasty—we noticed construction crews excavating a small, previously undeveloped patch of land for a senior center parking lot. Realizing we were standing on the site of a business that once trained dozens of potters and influenced the industry across New England, we sought and received permission from a local police officer to rescue any artifacts visible on the surface.
What we uncovered was a staggering collection of hundreds of items, including kiln furniture, bricks, and sherds dating from the Osborn, Reed and Paige potteries. Some of these artifacts likely offer a rare, tangible link to the original Osborn Pottery (circa 1736–1860). The sheer volume of material was breathtaking, especially considering that most of the surrounding property had been heavily developed and paved over decades ago, likely burying or destroying similar artifacts.
Some of these surface finds are already challenging established beliefs about Essex County pottery. We discovered concrete evidence of slip decoration and mottled green glazes—some techniques previously thought to be rare or non-existent in this region in the eighteenth or nineteenth century. We also found unusual black-glazed wares so thick they almost mimic eighteenth century imports from Buckley, England, suggesting the Osborns may have been imitating international styles to compete in the local market.
We also found a distinctive pot base with a large, rounded foot. This particular style is representative of early South Danvers pottery, though the influence of this type of base also reached into Bristol County, as well as the work of Peter Clark (1743–1826) in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Perhaps most surprising was the discovery of a black-glazed jug with a fully glazed base, a feature rarely attributed to New England utilitarian red earthenware. However, since the site’s layers were disturbed, it is likely these artifacts may represent eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century production. The entirety of these sherds is published in my second book, The Moses B. Paige Company: The Last of the Peabody Potteries: https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-moses-b-paige-company-the-last-of-the-peabody-potteries/."
Note: For more information - see a four-page feature story I wrote for the November 2017 issue of the New England Antiques Journal, titled, Digging into the Peabody Potteries: Archaeology and red earthenware: https://www.scribd.com/document/363670648/Peabody-Potter-s-Industry-NEAJ-November-2017.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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