Saving History: Three Red Earthenware Banks from Central Massachusetts

Thanks to a group of researchers, my forthcoming 700-800 page, eleventh book, A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires and Vermont, is going to present a lot of new information not previously published. Although, there will also be a discussion about some red earthenware production in Central Massachusetts, in places like Worcester, North Orange, Brimfield, and Holland. The book also shows how potters from places farther away—like Rhode Island, Charlestown, Newburyport, and South Danvers impacted production in Central and Western Massachusetts. 

Each of these three historic red earthenware banks shown here tells a unique story about this local history. The house bank on the left was made at a shop called Linley & Wright in East Brookfield, Massachusetts, and is now kept as part of Lura Woodside Watkins' (1897-1982) collection at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 

Interestingly, the round fruit bank on the right is a type that a boy named Francis Drake remembered making when he worked at that same East Brookfield shop. According to Watkins' book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, he looked back on his childhood job molding and painting pottery. He remembered that they made toy banks shaped like apples, pears, and oranges. This particular example was found years ago in a house right in East Brookfield.

In the middle sits a painted red earthenware toy bank shaped like a wobbly "Roly Poly" person. This was found years ago tucked away in an old attic in Northfield, Massachusetts. It was probably made back in the 1870s or 1880s, a time when clay factories were buzzing in East Brookfield and around Worcester. Whether the bright paint was applied by a factory worker is not known, though it is certainly a rare survivor.

All Three Red Earthenware Banks Likely Made in Central Massachusetts

House Bank Made at Linley & Wright in East Brookfield, Mass.

Fruit Banks were also Made by Other Manufacturers

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Smithsonian Institution and Private Collections

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...