A Wonderful 18th Century Red Earthenware Creamer or Small Pitcher Owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts

This morning I am going to show a few highlights from my visit to Old Sturbridge Village's storage facility in Sturbridge, Massachusetts yesterday with Boston archaeologist, Joe Bagley. I have decided that I am going to separate these objects between different articles since there is plenty to share.

This small black-glazed red earthenware creamer or small pitcher was formerly owned by Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) - it was likely discovered in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area in the 1930's or the 1940's. She attributes it to the Daniel Bayley (died 1792) Pottery Company (circa 1766-1799) in Newburyport during the circa 1766-1799 period. Her attribution was based on sherd evidence that she recovered at the site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in the 1930's. Luckily, I have also studied those sherds, which are owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. today.

I also assume that her attribution was helped based on the whereabouts that it was discovered. It is almost one-hundred-years ago that Watkins was uncovering red earthenware in its original context - some of the objects that she found were handed down through the family only one generation removed from when they were originally purchased.

18th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Creamer or Pitcher

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1766-1799

Stands Approximately 3" Tall

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Mass.

There are a few obvious reasons why I have an interest in this object; however, it is also related to a group of privately owned objects in New England. These objects are all attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company today. 

Coincidentally, I recently acquired a black-glazed object very-similar to the creamer or small pitcher owned by Old Sturbridge Village, which I posted an article about on February 2, 2016. 

"Last weekend, I was able to acquire, from a friend, a small black-glazed red earthenware creamer or small pitcher that was likely made in Massachusetts in the eighteenth-century. The form is very-similar to examples that are attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company (circa 1766-1799) in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the potter's industry in Charlestown, Massachusetts (circa 1635-1775) before the American Revolution.

In both instances, the attributions were developed based on the manner/style or appearance of the slip decoration, which strongly resembles archaeological evidence recovered in Newburyport and Charlestown. Those artifacts currently reside at the Smithsonian (Daniel Bayley Pottery Co.) in Washington, D.C., and at the Boston Archaeology Department (Charlestown Archaeology Collection) in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

The creamer or small pitcher, which I (now) own is thought to have been originally discovered in Maine; however, I'm not currently aware of what type of context that it was found.

The form, base and handle found on the newly acquired creamer is nearly identical or very-similar to the surviving examples shown below, which are attributed to Newburyport and Charlestown. The only difference being that the handle is attached closer to the rim. None-the-less, this is a very-rare survivor to find today."

Note: The creamer or small pitcher that I acquired is very-similar to the object owned by Old Sturbridge Village. I now believe this is more-likely a product made in Newburyport, rather than Charlestown.

Creamer of Pitcher Acquired in Maine

18th Century Red Earthenware Creamer

Probably Made at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Form is Very-Similar to the Other Creamers Shown in this Article

Circa 1766-1799

Stands 3 5/8" Tall

Thought to Have Been Originally Discovered in Maine 

 View of the Handle

View of the Base

Pitcher or Creamer Privately Owned in Connecticut

 18th Century Red Earthenware Creamer

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.
Slip Decoration Matches Slip Techniques Recovered in Newburyport in the 1930's

Circa 1766-1799

Stands Approximately 3 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Private Connecticut Collection

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Private Connecticut Collection

Creamer or Pitcher Privately Owned in New Hampshire

 18th Century Red Earthenware Creamer

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.
Slip Decoration Matches Slip Techniques Recovered in Newburyport in the 1930's

Circa 1766-1799

Stands 3 1/2" Tall

Discovered in an Early Farm House in Rochester, NH

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick - Portsmouth, NH

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Hollis Brodrick - Portsmouth, NH

Creamer or Pitcher Attributed to Charlestown, Mass.

18th Century Red Earthenware Creamer

Attributed to the Potter's Industry in Charlestown, Mass.
Slip Decoration Matches Slip Techniques Recovered in Charlestown in the 1980's

Circa 1750-1775

Stands Approximately 3 1/2" Tall
Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, Mass.

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

A Green-Glazed Object Made at the Mysterious Frey Pottery that Will Sell at Crocker Farm's Upcoming Auction in Sparks, Maryland

Admittedly, I am very-excited to see that Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland devoted a lot in their upcoming auction to the mysterious Frey Pottery of the late-nineteenth, and possibly the early-twentieth-century. This is a subject, which I have written about in the past - personally, I believe this is a forgotten potter's business today. Somehow the identity and business location has become lost as information was handed from one-generation to the next. 

Nonetheless, this is a significant art potter's business, which  I am hopeful will be identified in the near future. More information could lead to this company's products becoming highly-desired, as well. The known glazes are vibrant and the forms are skillfully thrown. It should also be noted that considering the period that these products are associated (late-nineteenth-century) with today - this business could receive such recognition that they are held with the same regard as some of the products manufactured at the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the William J. Walley Pottery in West Sterling, Massachusetts - and, the decorative wares made in the Shenadoah Valley in Virginia in the late-nineteenth-century.

According to Crocker Farm, "This American-made late nineteenth century green-glazed redware art pottery pitcher is ovoid in shape, with pronounced throw lines and an applied handle; the exterior surface is covered in a green copper glaze. The underside is impressed 'Frey.' An example of Frey redware is featured in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. Pieces bearing this mark have typically been attributed to an early to mid nineteenth century potting family in Berks County, Pennsylvania. However, such pieces are actually art pottery of a later manufacture, made with the Arts and Crafts Movement in mind. More research deserves to be done on what was clearly a skilled pottery with significant output."

Here is a link to the auction listing on Crocker Farm's website - this item is scheduled to sell on Saturday March 19, 2016.

Crocker Farm Pitcher

 Late-19th Century Green-Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher Made at the Frey Pottery

The History and Whereabouts of this American Business is Currently Forgotten Today

Hopefully New Research Will Present More Information About This Business
Based Stamped 'Frey'

Stands 5 3/8" Tall

Scheduled to Sell on Saturday March 19, 2016

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

 Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

 View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

View of the 'Frey Stamp

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

American Folk Art Museum Jar

Late-19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Decorated with a Vibrant-Colored Cobalt Glaze

 Made at the Frey Pottery

Base is Stamped 'Frey'

Pictured in the Fall 2004 American Folk Art Museum Magazine

Stands 11" Tall

Photo Courtesy: American Folk Art Museum - New York City

Needless to say (search previous articles), I also agree with the significance of the Frey Pottery today - here is a small collection of objects from this forgotten business, which I have discovered in New England in recent years. Most notable in the collection is the large cobalt-decorated jar, which matches the object that is owned by the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. This large jar also retains a history of ownership in the family of York, Maine auctioneer, Hap Moore. Hap's mother reportedly owned it for decades before he sold it in June 2015.

 Small Collection of 19th Century Frey Pottery Objects Collected in New England in Recent Years

The Cobalt-Decorated Jar is a Match to the Jar Owned by the American Folk Art Museum in NYC

Another View of the Objects

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

A $5.00 Find at a Coastal Massachusetts Thrift Store

I guess the old saying, "persistence pays off," held true, yesterday, for my father, when he visited a thrift store in Salisbury, Massachusetts. He visits this particular store frequently in hopes of discovering a lost treasure. I occasionally joke with him saying that nothing ever appears in this active shop; however, yesterday, he proved me completely wrong. Truthfully, you never know what might appear.

My Dad found this nineteenth-century red earthenware jar placed in the front of the shop priced for only five-dollars. That's not a typo, either. He purchased it - and, when I saw him last night, he said, "You won't believe what I found in the thrift store today!? I hope it's something." He knew it was 'something.' He told me that since I found a pair of hand-blown nineteenth-century Lyndeboro, New Hampshire glass canes recently for his collection that he wanted me to have this jar for my collection.

This is a very-nice find. My guess is that it was recently found in a local house that was cleaned out - that's where this thrift store obtains a bulk of its inventory.

A very-similar formed, and decorated nineteenth-century red earthenware jar is attributed to Huntington, New York on Long Island in the book, 'Useful Art: Long Island Pottery,' which was written by Cynthia Arps Corbett. The attribution is the result of sherd evidence recovered at the site of the Huntington Pottery. According to Corbett, "These earthenware pots are typical of Huntington output. The potters produced thick-bodied ovoid vessels. These pots are supported by footed pedestal bases and topped by rimless collars. Below the ridge, two lug handles are mounted on either side of the pot. This type of pot shape and collar identify it as being made during the first quarter of the nineteenth-century."

Note: The jar still retains the thrift store price tags; however, the price tags did not photograph well - each tag reads, "$5.00."

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Likely Made at the Huntington Pottery - Long Island, NY

Found Yesterday in a Thrift Store in Salisbury, Mass.
Purchased for $5

Circa 1805-1860

Stands 9 1/2" Tall

 View of One Handle

 View of the Other Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

Felt Not Original

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

A Wonderful 18th Century New England-Made Red Earthenware Jar Suggested to Have Been Produced by a Female Potter

I would like to remain with the discussion of eighteenth-century New England-made red earthenware tonight, which very-little survives from this era today. A common characteristic found with slip-decorated  sherds collected at the Daniel Bayley (died 1792) Pottery Company (circa 1766-1799) in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the pre-1775 potter's industry in Charlestown, Massachusetts was the use of a wide brush stroke. I would not limit this technique to only these areas today, but it is strongly represented in archaeological evidence collected in Newburyport and Charlestown. Undoubtedly, this was a coastal New England-style administered by some of the red earthenware potter's, who employed slip at their business before 1790. I would like to say that this characteristic was strongly represented with the potter's businesses located along coastal Massachusetts in the 1700's

The following eighteenth-century slip-decorated red earthenware jar is a very-rare survivor today. It is currently privately owned in New England; however, it will be sold at a prominent lifelong auction this spring. I will write a lot more about this collection in May sharing some incredible photographs of objects that have not been seen in decades. This jar is among that collection.

The wide brush strokes of slip applied on this jar is the type of technique that I just described - the jar is also decorated with some straight and wavy incised line decoration, which was applied on the potter's wheel. All of these decorative components are represented in the Bayley Pottery sherds owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. today. They were salvaged by Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) in the 1930's. This dark-brown glaze is also represented in the sherds.

However, I don't believe this specific form is attributable (to my knowledge), yet today since it is not represented in any of the archaeological collections, which I have reviewed. Nonetheless, there is an argument with this object that can probably be made for many potter's businesses located in Massachusetts in the eighteenth-century - that debate includes Newburyport, Massachusetts, Peabody, Massachusetts, Salem, Massachusetts, Charlestown, Massachusetts, Quincy, Massachusetts, Medford, Massachusetts, Abington, Massachusetts, Braintree, Massachusetts and southeastern Massachusetts.

I believe this is an early jar, too. I believe it could date between the circa 1750-1775 period. The last jar from this period to sell in New England was a highly important (covered) handled pot that sold at a Tim Gould auction in Augusta, Maine in 2014. That pot was made in Charlestown, Massachusetts around circa 1760.

Note: This jar has been long-attributed to Daniel Bayley's second wife, Sarah Bayley (died 1792). There is not much documented information that ties her directly to the production that happened at the Bayley family pottery in Newburyport today; however, the entire family is thought to have been involved with the potter's business before 1790. She could be only the second documented female utilitarian potter in Massachusetts essentially employed before the American Arts of Crafts Movement during the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. The only other known documented female involved with a potter's business in the eighteenth-century is Grace Parker (1697-1754) in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She resumed operation of the Parker Pottery (circa 1717-1754) after her husband (Isaac Parker) died in 1741.

There should be more information about this important object released when the auction information is published later this year.

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

Possibly Made at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1750-1775

Stands Approximately 7" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Sarah Bayley's Gravestone in Newburyport, Mass.
Died 1792
She was Daniel Bayley's Second Wife
He Operated the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.
He Also Died in 1792

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

An Eighteenth Century Jug Attributed to Newburyport, Massachusetts Recovered at a Trading Post in Maine

According to an article, written by John Kille for the 2006 edition of Ceramics in America, titled, 'Mixing Religion and Drink: Personified Expressions in Rockingham Glaze,' "(The following) communion jug is attributed to the Daniel Bayley (1729-1792) Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It is inscribed, 'For the use of Mr. Noble's Church July 10, 1763.' This jug is one of the earliest dated pieces of American redware (known) - it was used to store wine for communion services at the Fifth Parish Congregational Church in Newbury, Massachusetts, headed by Reverend Oliver Noble. It is the only (known) documented example of eighteenth century ecclesiastical redware produced in New England."

Daniel Bayley Communion Jug

 18th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Inscribed 'For the Use of Mr. Noble's CHURCH July 10, 1763
Circa 1763

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

 View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

View of the Base
Photo Courtesy: Old York Historical Society - York, ME

I was able to make-good on my promise of obtaining color images of this object that I discussed last weekend, where I wrote about an eighteenth century Newburyport red earthenware jug that was recovered within an American Revolution period archaeological context in Veazie, Maine.

This object was uncovered at the eighteenth century Penobscot Native-American Trading Post in Veazie, which is a coastal community, accessible from the Penobscot River, which is met by Penobscot Bay, and eventually the Atlantic Ocean, about thirty-miles downriver.

The jug was uncovered within a circa 1775-1779 archaeological context; whereas, it is also attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The form of the jug is very-similar to the jug, which was made for Mr. Noble's CHURCH' in 1763 (see above). It is also similar to another black-glazed jug, also attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company, which is owned by the Old Newbury Historical Society (see below) in Newburyport.

The following jug also likely represents an export business that occurred in the eighteenth century from potters in Massachusetts to places, such as New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.

Jug Recovered at 18th Century Trading Post Site in Maine

 18th Century Brown-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug 

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Recovered at the Jonathan Lowder Trading Post in Veazie, ME

Uncovered in a Circa 1775-1779 Archaeological Context

Circa 1775
Stands 9 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: University of Maine - Orono, ME

 View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: University of Maine - Orono, ME

 View of the Handle Attachment and the Rim

Photo Courtesy: University of Maine - Orono, ME

Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: University of Maine - Orono, ME

Jug Owned by Old Newbury Historical Society

18th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug

Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1766-1799

Stands Approximately 9 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old Newbury Historical Society - Newburyport, Mass.

Note: For more information about the history of the jug found in Veazie, Maine, and the archaeological context, which it was discovered - I have included a portion of the introductory article that was posted on February 27, 2016.

"The trading post was established in 1775 by Jonathan Lowder (1733-1814); according to 'Volume 30 of the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine,' "Jonathan Lowder was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1731 - and, he died in Bangor, Maine on January 28, 1814. He served at Fort Pownal or Fort Point, Maine. He was captain in Colonel Godthwait's regiment, and was also lieutenant colonel in Colonel Josiah Brewer's regiment. 

Lowder was also an agent for the Penobscot Indians and a clerk for Major Robert Treat for many years. Through his influence the Indians were prevented from enlisting in the English ranks, and were kept loyal to the American cause. 

He was also one of the original settlers of Bangor, Maine, owning a lot of one-hundred acres of land just above Mount Hope near where a substantial brick house used to stand. A headstone marks Louder's resting place in Bangor today."

The trading post was destroyed in 1779 during the Penobscot Expedition, which was an American crusade that was miscalculated, and an entire American fleet was destroyed in an attempt to regain land from under the control of British authority; this land would later become Maine in 1820.

This jug is likely further evidence that some of the coastal colonial Massachusetts red earthenware potters, who were located north of Boston were producing red earthenware for export before and during the American Revolution. The export evidence remains (so far) today with the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and a few (all?) of the businesses that were involved with the Charlestown, Massachusetts potter's industry before 1775.

Additional evidence from the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company has been recovered in Salem, Massachusetts, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a circa 1770 site located near Portland, Maine and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Evidence from Charlestown's industry has been recovered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, a military fort located north of Wiscasset, Maine and a military fort located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia."

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

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers Attributed to the Lorenzo Johnson Pottery in Western New York

According to the exhibit catalog, Clay in the Hands of the Potter: An Exhibition of Pottery Manufactured in the Rochester and Genesee Valley Region, Circa 1793-1900,  which was published by the Rochester Museum and Science Center in 1974, "Lorenzo Johnson (Western New York potter) operated a lead-glazed earthenware pottery in the extreme southwestern corner of the Town of Newstead as early as 1850. By 1866 he was producing both red earthenware and drain tile. Sometime after 1880, but before 1887, he moved a few miles south to Mill Grove, Erie County where he was active in another pottery operation.

Among the potters who may have worked for Johnson at Newstead was James Banford. Banford resided in Newstead, circa 1854-1859. He had previously operated a red earthenware pottery in the Village of Avon, Livingston County, and prior to that he had been a resident of West Bloomfield.

From extant examples of Johnson's wares and from sherds collected from the pottery site, we can see that in at least some of his production, Johnson was obviously attempting to imitate stoneware in form, glaze color and decoration. His use of a blue slip floral decoration is a trait also shared by a couple of Ontario, Canada earthenware potters. Records do suggest that Johnson may have been a resident of Canada in the late-1840s, which was previous to his employment in western New York as a potter beginning around 1850."

The following red earthenware pitchers are attributed to Lorenzo Johnson's production in Western New York during the circa 1850-1886 period. Although, I suspect they probably date closer to 1850 rather than 1886. The first pitcher is owned by the organization, Artists in Buffalo (New York), while the second pitcher was found a few years ago near Buffalo by Victor, New York antiques dealer, Gene Pratt.

Pitchers Attributed to the Lorenzo Johnson Pottery in Western New York

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher
Attributed to the Lorenzo Johnson Pottery in Erie County, NY

Stands Approximately 8" Tall
Circa 1850-1886
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Artists in Buffalo

  19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to the Lorenzo Johnson Pottery in Erie County, NY
Discovered a Few Years Ago Near Buffalo by Antiques Dealer, Gene Pratt

Stands Approximately 8" Tall

Circa 1850-1886
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

View of the Handle
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

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

The Origin of a 20th Century Birdhouse Regularly Attributed to Maryland Today

On May 31, 2014, Conestoga Auctions in Manheim, Pennsylvania sold "two unglazed redware objects attributed to the Henry Schofield, Jr. (1861-1948) Pottery in Cecil County, Maryland. The lot included a dome-top bird house with incised ring decoration and a dome top bank." The lot sold for $343.50, including the buyer's premium and sales tax.

Note: Henry Schofield, Jr. was the fifth son born to Henry Schofield, Sr. a well-known nineteenth-century red earthenware potter. The Schofield family is known for its accomplishments in the Mid-Atlantic utilitarian potter's industry today in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries.

20th Century Red Earthenware Bird House and Bank

Reportedly Made at the Henry Schofield, Jr. Pottery in Cecil County, MD

Bird House Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Bank Stands 4 3/4" Tall

Sold for $343.50 in 2014

Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions - Manheim, PA

On March 12, 2016, Conestoga Auctions will, yet, again sell another unglazed red earthenware bird house in the same form that sold in 2014; however, this example will be sold without an attribution. 

Admittedly, I am confused as to where this birdhouse form was made - and, I will explain why. I believe they are a Mid-Atlantic product from the early-to-mid-twentieth-century (before 1940), but I have not seen concrete evidence that suggests these are definitely a product of the Henry Schofield, Jr. Pottery in Cecil County, Maryland.

Note: The main reason that a more specific location is not given for Henry Schofield, Jr.'s work today is the  result of multiple kiln locations in Cecil County. Unless an object is obviously marked where it was made, it is difficult to make such an exact attribution. It would certainly be easier if Henry Schofield, Jr. had remained in the same location his entire career as a potter.

20th Century Red Earthenware Bird House Likely from a Mid-Atlantic Pottery

Stands 10" Tall

Scheduled to Sell on March 12, 2016

Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions - Manheim, PA

Here is a similar birdhouse that Crocker Farm sold in Sparks, Maryland in March of 2015 - it was described as a "20th century red earthenware birdhouse with heavy incised line decoration.

(Right) 20th Century Red Earthenware Bird House

Stands 8 3/8" Tall

Sold on March 14, 2015

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

According to a book written by James R. Koterski, PHD in 2011, 'Potters and Firebrick Makers of Cecil County, Maryland, and Nearby, 1750-1950,' "Henry Schofield, Jr.'s output included plates, bean pots, mugs, vases, sugar bowls, small pitchers, jugs, banks, flower pots, birdhouses and candle holders. The vast majority of surviving examples of Henry's redware is unsigned. 

The (clay) bodies of the pottery produced at his Maryland shop are found in several colors, largely imported by the clay the potter used. Some unglazed pieces mirror the matted orange color of today's mass-produced terra cotta, although Henry's tend to be a bit darker. 

Henry enhanced the appearance of his pots in several ways. The rim of unglazed vases and flower pots were often crimped or what sometimes is referred to as thumb-pressed. Quite often, these wares were even unglazed on the inside. He also impressed designs on the rounded shoulders of some vessels such as small jugs, sugar bowls, banks and bird houses. These shapes had been carved into sticks of wood that were used as stamps to impress the design into the vessel body before firing.

Few of Henry's ceramics were formed with straight-sided bodies. Rather, the vast majority of his wares - jugs, pitchers, vases, birdhouses and bean pots - are ovoid, that is, the belly of the vessel is fuller than the top or bottom. The surface of some pots also feels gritty.

Today, Henry's birdhouses are among the forms, which are prized by collectors and command strong prices at auction."

The following pair of birdhouses are properly attributed to Henry Schofield, Jr. I have spoken with Dr. Kotersky - and, he agrees that all of the birdhouses of discussion in this article (with the exception of the following two) are commonly attributed to Henry Schofield, Jr. today; however, he is not convinced that they are a product of Schofield's Maryland pottery. Rather, he feels that they were probably made by another potter's business elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic during the early-to-mid-twentieth-century.

20th Century Red Earthenware Birdhouses Made by Henry Schofield, Jr. - Cecil County, MD

Left: Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Right: Stands 7 1/2" Tall

Circa 1900-1940

Photo Courtesy: Horst Auctioneers - Ephrata, PA

Despite the fact that I am not convinced where these bird houses were made - I have picked four related objects in my travels in recent years. The form is great! I really enjoy them even though I don't known where they were exactly made.

Two of these birdhouses were purchased at one of the antique shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts a few years ago from a West Virginia antiques dealer - the dealer said he picked them in West Virginia, but he felt they were made in either Maryland or Pennsylvania.

Another birdhouse was discovered at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Massachusetts in 2014 from a New Hampshire antiques dealer. I asked her if she knew any history behind the birdhouse, but she said she did not. All she could tell me is that she bought it at a New England auction.

More recently, I discovered a fourth example at an antique show in Milford, New Hampshire a few weeks ago. I asked the dealer if she knew anything about the bird house - unfortunately, all she knew is that she had owned it for many years.

Note: The birdhouse shown to the right in this first photograph has a bird's nest still inside of it.

20th Century Red Earthenware Birdhouses Discovered in Brimfield, MA in 2013
Purchased from a West Virginia Antiques Dealer
Probably Made in One of the Mid-Atlantic States Before 1940
The Birdhouse to the Right Retains a Bird's Nest
Right: Stands 9" Tall 

Left: 10 1/4" Tall

20th Century Red Earthenware Birdhouse Discovered in Rowley, MA in 2014
Found at Todd's Farm Flea Market
Purchased from a New Hampshire Antiques Dealer
Probably Made in One of the Mid-Atlantic States Before 1940
Stands 8 3/4" Tall

20th Century Red Earthenware Birdhouse Discovered in Milford, NH in 2016

Found at the Weekly Milford, NH Antiques Show

Purchased from a New Hampshire Antiques Dealer

Probably Made in One of the Mid-Atlantic States Before 1940

Stands 10" Tall

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