The Maine Red Earthenware Industry Before 1820: A Brief Study

In my opinion, red earthenware made before Maine became a state is extremely rare today. The Maine potter's industry really took off when the state was proclaimed in 1820. Potter's by the name of Corliss, Safford, Dodge, Kendrick, Bickford, Alld, Philbrick, Webber, Norcross and Porter all became prominent between 1820-1880. Some rose to greater importance than others by today's standards, but all appear to have embraced the new found independence that March 15, 1820 introduced. It's the pieces of red earthenware that predate 1820 that can identify with a different potter's movement in Maine than the potters after 1820 were involved with. Industries really emerged in Portland, Woolwich and Monmouth after 1820, but I am not so sure there were any places in Maine that could be considered an industry before 1820. I would instead call most merely businesses.

Among the earliest pieces of Maine red earthenware that I have seen is a stew pot that was found in a Rockport, Massachusetts home by Essex, Massachusetts auctioneer, Michael March a few years ago. It's a form that William Pecker of Merrimacport (formerly West Amesbury), Massachusetts made famous during his career. Pecker made a very similar form from 1784 up until his death in 1820. I feel the following stew pot falls in between that same time frame. The reason for the Maine attribution is the form, the glaze, the rim, the handle and a similar formed stew pot attributed to Maine in the collection of the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts.

 Red Earthenware Stew Pot - Probably Made by a Maine Potter

Likely Dates Before 1820

5 1/2" Tall

A Type of Handle Usually Attributed to Maine Potters

I am not sure how the stew pot was given the Maine attribution at the Bidwell House - I have also been told by a few long-time scholarly collectors that this is a known Maine form. It appears some of the glaze was exposed to high temperatures with the first pictured pot. The high temperatures were likely experienced in the potter's kiln, but cooking over an open fire may have also caused this as well. While the forms of these two pots are not exactly the same - they are very similar. Traces of a very similar glaze can also be seen. I compare them by form first then the glaze.

Maine Attributed Red Earthenware Stew Pot

Ca. Likely Before 1820

Photo Courtesy: Bidwell House Museum - Monterey, Ma

The earliest piece of red earthenware made in Maine known is a jar signed, "May ye 8 1739 JD hur Jug price 2s 6d Give me to make with your hand and I will fill it if I can."  John Day of Pownal, Maine is the maker. He was among the earliest potters working in New England - performing his craft at the same time the potter's of Charlestown, Massachusetts were expanding their industry. The jar is unglazed on the outside with a brown lead glazed interior. It features an ovoid body that was thickly thrown by Day. It probably served some kind of storage purpose. There was likely never a lid. It makes me wonder why so much incised writing was placed on a jar that was not overly decorated in form or glaze. Could it have been an advertising piece for Day's business? That would be my guess.

The jar is kept at Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts. It is apart of Nina Fletcher Little!s collection, which is now owned by Historic New England.

Red Earthenware Jar Made by John Day in Pownal, Me

Dated, "May 8, 1739"

Measurements: 10" Tall by 7" Wide

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England - Boston, Ma

Boston was the centerpiece of New England before 1775. The Charlestown red earthenware industry across the river and just to the north, was the centralized industry in New England, but it is still interesting to learn of who the smaller potters were elsewhere in the region. Potters did emerge on the south shore and the north shore in coastal Massachusetts, but potters like Day - worked in the states outside of Massachusetts during the same period. It's potters like Day that not a lot is known of today who worked in places like New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut - but their contributions were just as significant as other potters who were more established. I personally sometimes find the smaller country potters equally as  fascinating as the larger urban ones...And of course the earliest potters are the ones who have the most historical significance to the independence gained in 1775.

Much More to Come...

An Unusual Red Earthenware Form From American Potters: The Porch Vase

I have always had an appreciation for the spacious porches of early southern American homes. If these porches could only talk - the stories they would tell. I can envision how some of these porches may have been furnished; a set of wicker furniture, a swinging seat with a back-rest attached with chains to the ceiling - covered in pillows, maybe a few porch rockers with cushions, some lighting, and of course - potted plants that stand and hang. I can also see early forms of American utilitarian pottery filled with dirt; furthermore a wonderful arrangement of flowers and greens pouring over the sides in a flock of decorative colors. I have always found the idea of a large, wide-open porch extending across the front of a house as a wonderful meeting place that invites visitors into the atmosphere of a household. The porch can sometimes speak to what lays ahead in the home - and the southern porches I am referring to were often filled with what I envision as a warm culture and a welcome hospitality. It's like when walking into an antique shop for the first time - you can get a sense of what may be hidden inside by the quality or obscurity of what is out front. I guess I also admire southern porches because they were not usually a part of early architecture here in New England. It's an experience that many New England homeowners, who often act as caretakers of antique homes do not always understand. The idea of having that porch in the spring as nature renews itself, or at dusk for summer evening entertainment and even in the fall months is an open opportunity I would welcome.

--------------------

Crocker Farm, Inc. of Sparks, Maryland sold an interesting crock, which happened to have been called a porch vase at a July 2013 sale. The red earthenware jar was inscribed across the front, "AGNES MILLER, FROM, MAURICE, 1927." I assume the interior is either glazed or painted. It features a wonderful rounded rim, a rounded foot and an ovoid body. The exterior is not glazed. According to the auction house, "It was found in New York state and possibly made there. The vase also bears a resemblance to some early Brown Pottery products of North Carolina." I am not sure if the name, Maurice is indicative of a possible potter or merely a customer. The form of the jar suggests the potter was probably accomplished at their craft.

Possibly New York State-Made Red Earthenware Porch Vase

Signed Maurice, Who May have Been the Potter or the Client

Also Dated "1927"

Stands 16 1/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm, Inc. - Sparks, Md

Over the last six-months, I have found two crocks similar to the porch vase mentioned above. The first was found in Salem, Massachusetts and the second in Essex, Massachusetts. The distance between Salem and Essex is about ten miles. Each is a little larger than the porch vase, but the overall form is very similar. Both have a flat rim, a rounded foot and an ovoid body. The interior of both is also painted black - a paint color used by a few Essex County potters in the latter years of the nineteenth century. 

I initially thought the vases may have been made by Charles A. Lawrence's Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts; however, Lawrence appears to have been a perfectionist with his products. Each form's proportions were in line with the next. His products did not vary - and these jars are more in line with potters who may not have been as skilled as the employees at Lawrence Pottery. I have seen similar nineteenth-century products made in South Danvers (Peabody), Massachusetts that vary in skill. This was sometimes the case at the Osborn Pottery, where dozens of potters were employed and not all owned the same skill - so sometimes the refinement and form of certain products varied. This may be the case with the two crocks found in Salem and Essex.

The incised lines around the crock pictured to the right are also a  characteristic used by Essex County potters, but it was usually used much earlier than these crocks appear to have been made. The weight of both jars also feels correct to what is expected of early American potters.

Probably Late 19th Century Red Earthenware Crocks

Each Stands Over 20" Tall

(Left) Crock Found in Salem, Ma

(Right) Crock Found in Essex, Ma

The black paint seen on both of these crocks match the black paints used in Beverly, but that's not to say another potter was not using a similar paint. There were potter's businesses throughout Essex County in the nineteenth-century. After 1850, the number of potters was in a downward decline since the market demand for utilitarian red earthenware was not as strong as it once had been. These products could even possibly be products made in the early twentieth-century, but my suspicions lead me to believe they were made earlier. I don't personally have an attribution, but I feel they were made in Essex County between 1860-1890 - and they may have served the same purpose as the porch vase Crocker Farm sold in 2013.

I thought it was worth mentioning this form because I had never heard of it before. It's a rather interesting style probably not made by a lot of potters.

Much More to Come...

18th Century Imported Stoneware and Earthenware Products Uncovered at Faneuil Hall in Boston

I think Faneuil Hall is one of the great archaeology collections that is currently kept at the City of Boston Archaeology Department in West Roxbury, Massachusetts - but the large majority of it still resides under ground at Faneuil Hall in Boston. The area is basically entirely filled-in land - mostly from the eighteenth-century. It's anyone's guess as to what may still reside under there. I do know there are important shards of ceramics, but beyond that there are likely important Native American artifacts and examples of the great global trade system that once existed in the area. The area was home to many important revolutionary meetings that were held in both public and secretive settings. It was home to the Boston Massacre, a great fire, the colonial Massachusetts lottery system, a huge variety of imports and exports - and a great deal of important merchants and sea captains. Faneuil Hall (Boston), New York City and Philadelphia were the three major American colonial ports. The traffic was large and the history was being written when all three of these ports were active. Today, much of this history still lives underground.

Every time I visit the Boston Archaeology Department, my interests are drawn in two separate directions; the Charlestown, Massachusetts Archaeology Collection and the Faneuil Hall Archaeology Collection. I enjoy each equally for different and related reasons.

The majority of my posts are related to red earthenware; however the Faneuil Hall collection contains some nice examples of early eighteenth-century stoneware - and I thought I would share a few interesting artifacts.

--------------------

This first picture is the remains of eighteenth century white stoneware probably made in Staffordshire, England. The shards to the left and right are from the same vessel in the form of a thinly potted tankard with engobe. Engobe is similar to slip decoration (see yesterday's report), but with a different process. The tankard once stood five inches tall. The shard to the top is from a smaller form. These shards were all uncovered in a context that dates no later than 1742 in Faneuil Hall. The archaeology happened when a wall built in 1742 was recently removed. All of the fill below the wall dates before that year. Similar English white stoneware shards have been excavated in parts of Virginia; although it's a product that was likely imported into all the major colonial maritime cities.

18th Century English White Stoneware with Engobe Shards

Probably from Staffordshire, England

Made Before 1742

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

This next photo is somewhat of a mystery. It was found in the same context at Faneuil Hall as the shards above. It kind of appears like English brown stoneware, similar to the products made Nottingham, England; however the glaze appears different. The handle was probably attached to a tankard at one time. A similar K has been seen on German stoneware products made during the same period - so this may also be a German maker. I am not familiar with what the K stood for. It's my guess it may have been short for a German word that indicated the size of the tankard; i.e. how much liquid it would hold, but I am not sure of that. Similar letters are seen on brown glazed stoneware made in England that do stand for how much liquid can be held.

This is the third shard known that is kept at the Boston Archaeology Department marked with a K on the handle. All the K's were placed by a stamp, but not all appear in the same form. Some of the lines on the others K's are rounded, while this particular example's lines are straight. All the marked handles appear in an eighteenth-century context. Two were found at Faneuil Hall in Boston and one in Charlestown.

18th Century English or German Brown Glazed Stoneware Shard

Made Before 1742

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

Here we have an early English stoneware teapot that may have been made at Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. At the least, it was made in England. It comes from the same context as the previous artifacts. The characteristic I like most about this form is how the sides of the spout have been flattened. You don't typically see that with early ceramic teapots. In most cases the spout is round, but not with this product.

18th Century English Stoneware Teapot Shard

Made Before 1742

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

These last shards are the most confusing of this group. The City of Boston Archaeology Department posted pictures yesterday to a public forum on Facebook, but since both Joe Bagley and myself were puzzled equally - I thought I would also share here. The shards all appear to have been from the same flat form, which I feel is a platter or plate of some type. It appears to be molded. The clay looks similar to earthenware products made in eighteenth-century Staffordshire, England - but the decoration is what makes these shards so peculiar. I have never seen this type of decoration before - so I am having a tough time determining where it was made.

All of the shards were found below a wall that was built at Faneuil Hall in 1805. Holes were dug for the wall and all the dirt and debris removed from the ground was eighteenth-century landfill. Once the wall was complete, the hole was then refilled with the same fill. Archaeologist many years later excavated this area and these shards among manny other artifacts were discovered. Like I said, it appears molded, but I am not certain. It could have even been press-molded. It appears the shards may be covered in slip decoration with black particles scattered throughout. Please feel free to provide any information here if you have any thoughts. I think it would have been a really attractive product.

 18th Century Earthenware Shards Probably from England

Appears to be a Molded Product Covered in Slip Decoration

Made Before 1742

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

The Unglazed Clay Appears Similar to Earthenware Products Made in Staffordshire, England

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

Thanks for Reading...Much More to Come...

A Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar from an Unknown Possible 19th Century Maker

"Slip decoration does not appear to have been practiced by the English potters to any extent prior to the middle of the seventeenth century…One of the earliest varieties of slip ware was decorated by combing. While the body was still moist a slip of another color was poured upon the clay…which produced a marbled or veined effect in two colours…True slip-decorated pottery was produced at various places in England (17th & 18th centuries), which included Wrotham slip, Metroplolitan slip, Staffordshire slip and Derby slip. The earliest known piece of slip (as of 1907 in America) was found in Pennsylvania in the form of a shaving dish discovered in Lancaster County, bearing the date of 1733."

(Lead Glazed Pottery, Edwin Atlee Barber, 1907, NY - Doubleday, Page & Company)

Late 18th or Early 19th Century English Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Dish

This is the Marbleized Effect Discussed Above

Photo Courtesy: Northeast Auctions - Portsmouth, NH

--------------------

Among the earliest examples of slip decoration discovered in New England is a large bowl with a slip decorated interior and an unglazed exterior. The bowl was found inside a 1770 archaeological context within a privy at the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The tavern (along with part of Charlestown) was excavated as part of the Big Dig project in the 1980s. According to the archaeology reports, the maker is not known. The tavern was originally built for Governor John Winthrop after his arrival in 1630; however he soon left for Boston and the house was turned into Long's Ordinary (ordinary being the Old World word for tavern). By the end of the seventeenth century, it had gone through another name change when it became the Three Cranes Tavern. It would remain under this name until the Battle of Bunker Hill happened on June 17, 1775. The tavern provided shelter and festivities for a broad group of visitors over the years. It witnessed much of the revolutionary turmoil that happened across the river in Boston in the 1700s.

18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl

Found in a 1770 Context in Charlestown, Ma
Measures 15" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: Massachusetts Historical Commission - Boston, Ma
Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Ma

Slip decoration was probably most popular with American potters before 1800, where afterwards in some regions its use began to decline. The technique did remain strong in Pennsylvania throughout the nineteenth century. In England, country potters in areas like Buckley, Sussex, South Wales and Fremington continued with its use.

Last summer, I found this jar at a local flea market. The dealer told me it was found in a local home. I initially thought it was a product of Thomas Nickerson's Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts. As I have previously discussed, Merrimac Pottery worked with a paper label before 1902 and afterwards, an impressed stamp was used. I figured the paper label may have fallen off and it was now lost. The form, slip decoration and diminutive handles are all characteristics sometimes used at the Merrimac Pottery Company. My idea was ruled out the other day when Jim Messineo of JMW Gallery in Boston said the jar appears earlier than when Thomas Nickerson operated in Newburyport. He said he could see the argument for a  Merrimac attribution, but he felt it was earlier. JMW Gallery has specialized in the pottery made during the Arts and Crafts Movement (1860-1930s)  for more than twenty-years - with a special emphasis given to the products made in Massachusetts. Based on that information, I now feel it must be a European product and seeing it is made of red earthenware leads me to believe it may be the product of a nineteenth century English country potter. Unfortunately, it's a form I am not familiar with.

  (Left) Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Handled Jar with a Clear Lead Glaze

Possibly an English Potter

Likely 19th Century

Measures 6 3/4" Tall

(Right) Slip Decorated Earthenware Pitcher with a Clear Lead Body Glaze

The Interior is Completely Covered in Slip

Dated on Base, "1865"

  Red Earthenware Base Cut at an Angle

 Clear Lead Glazed Interior

 Interesting Form and Diminutive Applied Handles

Large amounts of slip were used by country potters all over England and throughout parts of continental Europe. The technique is still in use today by some country potters. The manufacturer of this jar is not known, but I thought it would be an interesting slip decorated jar for discussion. The amount of slip used, the dark color of the clay and the lead glazed interior all suggest a possible English potter to me; although potters elsewhere in Europe should not be ruled out. I would love any feedback if there are any comments or suggestions. Thanks for reading!

Much More to Come...

A Newly Discovered 18th Century Red Earthenware Pot Probably Made in Essex County, Massachusetts

While driving home on Interstate 495 today in Massachusetts, I made a quick detour in Lawrence (Merrimac Valley) at an antique shop about a minute off the highway. The shop was mostly decorative products that didn't serve  much of a study purpose, but I did happen to find an early small red earthenware crock. It is very thinly potted, with a colorful interior glaze similar to some glaze colors properly attributed to the South Danvers (Peabody), Massachusetts industry in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The crock has a very strong possibility that it was made in the eighteenth-century from its feel and appearance. It feels differently than products made in the area in the nineteenth-century. The orange color is also very similar to the base color of eighteenth-century products made at the Osborn Pottery in South Danvers.

Probably 18th Century Red Earthenware, Crock Made in South Danvers, Ma

Probably Osborn Pottery

Height: 4 1/4"

Diameter at Top: 3 1/4"

Diameter at Base: 3 1/2"

Interior Orange Color Similar to the Base Glaze of Typical 18th Century Osborn Pottery Products

Late 18th Century South Danvers (Peabody), Ma Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to the Osborn Pottery

John Osborn May Have Been the Potter

The Osborn Pottery employed dozens of Osborn family members in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The more prolific products were arguably made during the 1760-1820 period. Aside from the dozens of Osborn potters in Essex County, the area employed at least a hundred potters during the area's most prolific years that began when the Charlestown earthenware industry was destroyed at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Prior to the American Revolution, Charlestown "ware" was the dominant domestic red earthenware product in New England. After the industry was lost for America's Independence, the focus shifted elsewhere. The industry on Boston's North Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts became the largest industries in New England - serving the area's growing demand from the constant evolving population. For those reading this report who really understand the importance of red earthenware made in Charlestown, Essex County and southeastern Massachusetts - I wonder how those three areas would have appeared if the Battle of Bunker Hill had never happened. I also wonder if the industry in Charlestown would have only continued to grow. Would it have continued to dominate the region like it did before 1775? Could it have possibly evolved into how many of the well-documented English factories appeared in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? It's an interesting concept that I think about when studying Charlestown related material.

This new pot is likely an example of the post-1775 movement that happened in Essex County on Boston's North Shore. I don't think it is any later than 1790.

Please Stay Tuned…Much More to Come!

The Ancient Pottery of Russell G. Crook: A Unique Potter Who Developed in New England's Post 1900-Potter's Industry

"Information of the life of Russell G. Crook is scarce at best. It is known that he was a member of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts, which listed him as a sculptor, plaster modeler, and potter. He was designated as a Craftsman and exhibitor in 1899 and was given the title Master Craftsman in 1908. His address changed from Boston in 1900 to South Lincoln, Massachusetts between 1902 and 1927.

It is also known that Crook designed tiles for William Grueby (Grueby Pottery - South Boston, Mass)...Crook was evidently a talented individual who understood the principles of creating an arts and crafts interior. But Crook's talents went beyond that of design and into the vessels he created himself...Crook's vessels are a salt-glazed stoneware reminiscent of stoneware produced in New York and New England during the mid to late 1800s. The decoration consists of repeated designs on simple forms. The designs are of fantastic animals which seem to be created by painting cobalt around a stencil...The works of Russell Crook are extremely rare and have not surfaced frequently."

  (Fireworks: New England Art Pottery of the Arts & Crafts Movement, Paul Royka, 1997, Schiffer)

--------------------

Art pottery is not typically a field I have a large interest in, but after quickly flipping through Paul Royka's book, Fireworks: New England Art Pottery of the Arts & Crafts Movement recently - I found the work of Russell G. Crook rather interesting. Below is an example of Crooks work. The form is wonderful, but what's even more appealing are the types of decoration Crook applied. In many instances, he drew inspiration from nature, which added a unique beauty. Crook should be considered among the most accomplished New England potters who worked in stoneware when the ideas of decoration and form are discussed; however that's not what caught my attention.

 Russell G. Crook Stoneware Vase - Boston or South Lincoln, Ma

Vase is Decorated with an Underwater Scene

Ca. 1900-1927

Photo Courtesy: Humler & Nolan - Cincinnati, Oh 

It's Unusual To See Stoneware Products from New England's Art Potters

Photo Courtesy: Humler & Nolan - Cincinnati, Oh  

The products made by Crook, which intrigued me the most were the ancient Greek-style forms. The whole idea of ancient Grecian forms made after 1870 have completely fascinated me. The idea of who the consumer market was, the level of demand, the theory the potters drew for its success and the industry's approach is completely fascinating.

Similar products to those made by Crook were made elsewhere in New England in Beverly, Massachusetts, Chelsea, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Newburyport, Massachusetts, Concord, New Hampshire and Portland Maine. Most of these businesses came before Crook emerged although he probably had as much of an interest in the early 1900s as did the potters in the 1870s. Crook's forms appear to have been red earthenware products, but I am not certain of that. According to JMW Gallery in Boston, "Now that you mention it, I think they were light colored clay covered with red slip, maybe? And black paint...maybe not even stoneware."

The jars were completely painted with Roman figures in black or alternative decoration that is similar to designs used in ancient Greece - on top of a painted orange body. It was a similar decorative approach used in Beverly and Chelsea. It has been also suggested that Crook gathered inspiration from actual Roman forms kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston - like so many other potters did. The fascination from  many of these potters could have developed from a large acquisition the museum made with Roman Pottery in the late nineteenth century that allowed many New England potters the opportunity to study ancient pottery.

Russell G. Crook Earthenware Handled Grecian Vase
Probably Made in South Lincoln, Ma
Ca. 1900-1910
Photo Courtesy: Paul Royka, Schiffer Publishing and JMW Gallery (Boston, Ma)

I do not believe I have ever seen any of Crooks Grecian forms in person, rather only in books - but those few pictures show an interesting characteristic. The black paint he used appears to have been glossy, unlike the the flat paints used by most other New England potters who worked in the revival of Grecian products. Only the black appears this way on the few jars I have seen, but it could also have been a chemical added years later to preserve the paint or simply give it that glossy look.

Since so little of Crook's work is known - I am not sure how the attribution of the Grecian forms was established. There is not a whole lot of published material about his work and Crook is not thought to have ever signed any of his pottery - and I am also not aware of any shards that exist. There must be some old records somewhere that I just haven't seen yet. Crooks Grecian forms do not resemble his more traditional decorated stoneware so the connection and association is still a mystery. I am hopeful to soon find that connection. I am in contact with a few people who know about Crook's work so hopefully in the future I will be able to discuss more facts about this subject.

Much More to Come...

A Newly Discovered 19th Century Red Earthenware Lid Made in Either New Hampshire or Maine: The Continued Study of New England Potters

It would be rather ironic that after writing about a rare early nineteenth century Essex County, Massachusetts lidded red earthenware utilitarian crock - now in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts - and another wildly glazed, incised late eighteenth or early nineteenth century lid in the same collection - that I would happen to find one. I am lucky - sometimes it works out that way. The new large lid is fresh from an estate in central New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the jar was either broken, removed or the lid was left behind years ago. It's almost always the opposite that happens, where the lid gets lost or broken and the jar survives. A Connecticut collector used a really interesting term this week when he referred to these types of lids as orphans removed from their native forms.

Very Rare Late 18th or Early 19th Century Essex County, Massachusetts Red Earthenware Lid

Lid Measures 12 Inches Across

Wonderful Incised Decoration to Go Along with a Bold Glaze

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

 Early 19th Century Essex County, Massachusetts Red Earthenware Crock with Original Lid

Probably Made at the Osborn Pottery in South Danvers (Peabody), Ma

Lid Measure 9 Inches Across

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

 Close-Up of Lid

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Ma

The newly discovered lid measures nine inches across - making it one of the largest lids I have ever seen from a New England potter outside of a museum collection. I have seen large unglazed flat lids made by the early potters south of New England - like John Bell in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania before; however this type of lid is rare, where it consists of a more in-depth form and a desirable colored glaze.

The lid probably sat prominently on top of a crock that was seven inches across. You'll notice below the lid's form reveals it was intended to sit inside a crock, which probably gave it a tighter fit and less of a chance to slip off the crock and break. I assume the crock was glazed in the same color as was this lid, which happens to be in a nice deep green lead glaze similar to the color of northern New England pine trees. It was probably made by a nineteenth century New Hampshire potter, but there is also support to say it was made in Maine.

Deep Green Glazed 19th Century Red Earthenware Crock Lid

Probably Made in NH, Possibly Maine

Base Is Similar to Crock Lids Above in the PEM Collection in Salem, Ma

 Extended Base Would Have Made the Lid Fit Nicely Inside a Crock

 Lid Measures 9 Inches Across

It's the Size of a Small Dinner Plate

Lid Would Have Sat Inside a Crock with an Opening 7 Inches Across

The green glazed lid is very similar to smaller lids attributed to the Chesham region of  New Hampshire by the author, Lura Woodside Watkins in her important book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares. These lids have survived intact with their original crocks (seen below). They were donated with the rest of Watkins collection to the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. 

The Chesham region of New Hampshire employed more than a dozen potters in the nineteenth century. The Chesham forms were kind of unique as seen below, but also similar to some forms made in central New Hampshire. A lot of green and black lead glazes were used on a variety of forms that ranged from crocks, jars, pitchers, jugs and unglazed utilitarian forms. I do not feel the newly discovered lid was made in Chesham, but I thought the similarities between the two forms were worth seeing.

19th Century Red Earthenware Lidded Crocks - Attributed to Chesham, NH

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

She Discovered Both Crocks in New Hampshire

Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History - Washington, D.C.

I would tend to believe the new lid was probably made in the central-area of New Hampshire where it was found. It may have possibly been made in the Concord or Plymouth-area, but there is also a chance it was made in Maine. A similar dark green glaze was used by potters all over Maine. The reason I suggest Maine as a possibility is because of the single colored glaze. The clays throughout northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire were rich with iron and copper impurities. These impurities often reflected in how the glaze appeared when it was removed from the potter's kiln. The green dots seen above on the Chesham jars is a result of the process I just described. The lid happens to be a solid color. The glaze appears to be how the potter originally intended for it to be colored, which occurred more in Maine than it did in New Hampshire. I haven't examined enough lids to really say where this particular lid was made, but the glaze color does seem similar to glazes used at the Safford Pottery in Monmouth, Maine. Safford Pottery is a possibility. It's either a New Hampshire or Maine potter. I think there are characteristics for each state that can be argued. The form of the lid is also similar to the lids from the Peabody Essex Museum collection; although I have never seen a dark green color attributed to Essex County before.

I have never consider the idea of a demand for additional lids until writing this report, but I wonder if early utilitarian potters ever made replacement lids. It seems like a really interesting idea. I would assume there would have been a market for them. Its possible clients may have occasionally placed a special order to replace a broken lid. I have never read about the sale of such a need in any of my studies, but it certainly seems logical.

Much More to Come...