A Red Earthenware Pitcher that was Recently Found in Maine, Which Compares to Two Pitchers Uncovered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

I recently purchased a dark-glazed red earthenware pitcher from Portsmouth, New Hampshire antiques dealer, Hollis Brodrick. Hollis told me that he acquired the pitcher from a picker in Maine. He thought it had a late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century appearance, and he also felt that it may have been made anywhere from Essex County, Massachusetts to the New Hampshire seacoast or somewhere in southern Maine.

It appears (to me) that the pitcher may be related to two known pitchers, which were uncovered in the twentieth-century on Deer Street in Portsmouth when a hotel was built. The artifacts from this site are kept at Strawbery Banke's Archaeology Department in Portsmouth today.

The site generated a huge collection of ceramics, which included English slipware, German stoneware, English creamware, and a large collection of locally produced red earthenware from makers in Essex County, Massachusetts, (likely) Portsmouth and Maine.

The pitchers, which I reference were discovered in a circa 1820-1840 archaeological context, but that does not mean they could not be earlier. I am also hesitant to provide an attribution due to the large amount of potters, who were employed in this part of New England during the period.

Note: It has been suggested that the pitchers discovered in Portsmouth may have been made in southern Maine; however, I am unsure of that attribution since the refinement could also suggest an Essex County potter, as well from the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century.

The Deer Street site provided such a large concentration of ceramics that I would not be surprised where these pitchers may have come from, whether it be a potter's business in Essex County, Massachusetts, the New Hampshire seacoast or in southern Maine. Although, I do feel that the following three pitchers may be related.

Map Shows Location of Deer Street in Portsmouth, NH

Map Shows Deer Street in Portsmouth, NH

Deer Street is Located Near the Downtown Area in the City

Photo Courtesy: Google Maps

Pitchers Uncovered in Portsmouth, NH

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers Recovered at the Deer Street Site in Portsmouth, NH

Found in a Circa 1820-1840 Archaeological Context
Each Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Department - Portsmouth, NH

Pitcher Recently Found in Maine

(Middle) Pitcher Recently Found in Maine
Recently Purchased from Portsmouth, NH Antiques Dealer, Hollis Brodrick

18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Recently Found in Maine

Form is Similar to the Examples Found on Deer Street in Portsmouth, NH

Stands 8 1/2" Tall

Likely Made in Essex County, Mass, New Hampshire Seacoast or Southern Maine

Another View of the Pitcher

View of the Handle

View of the Interior
Notice the Different Colored Interior Glaze

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

A Rare Piece of 18th Century Connecticut Red Earthenware Reportedly Made Before the American Revolution

I'm sure there are some people reading this, who may recognize this small lidded jar; it was originally published in 'The Magazine Antiques' around the mid-twentieth-century. The jar is attributed to the Norwich, Connecticut red earthenware potter, Christopher Leffingwell (1734-1810), and it is owned by the Litchfield Historical Society in Connecticut.

The jar is dated in slip-decoration "8 1765." I assume the "8" may stand for the eighth month of the year, which would have been August. Unfortunately, I do not definitively know the meaning of this inscription, but Leffingwell would have been 21 years old when this jar was made - the date may represent the month and year when he finished an apprenticeship. Although, there are probably additional interpretations, as well.

Nevertheless, I thought this was an important piece of eighteenth-century New England-made red earthenware, which deserves more attention today. Rarely is any New England pottery made before 1900 marked or dated, and this is certainly an early piece reportedly made before the American Revolution.

The only piece of New England-made red earthenware that I am aware of today, which is embellished with an earlier date is a black-glazed communion jug attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The jug is inscribed, "For the use of Mr. Noble's CHURCH July 10, 1763."

Note: Try to envision this jar without its slip-decoration. (To me) It would probably appear like an early-nineteenth-century red earthenware jar. However, I have learned from visiting various museums that some of the products made by New England potters, who overlapped the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries often produced objects with similar forms and glazes that also overlapped from the 1700's to the 1800's. Honestly, this idea is more common than what is generally realized today, but it is usually quite difficult to prove an object is actually from the eighteenth-century.

 18th Century Red Earthenware Jar

Reportedly Made by Christopher Leffingwell - Norwich, CT

Dated in Slip Decoration "8, 1765"

Circa 1765

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

 View of the Slip-Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

  View of the Slip-Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

 View of the Slip-Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

 View of the Lid

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

 View of the Lid and the Interior

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: Litchfield, CT Historical Society

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

18th Century Charlestown, Massachusetts Stoneware Recovered from a Privy at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts

The Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American homestead/farm located in Newbury, Massachusetts. The property's original seventeenth-century stone home still stands today, where eighteenth-century additions have also been added. The original stone house was built in a classic English style.

A section of the property was excavated by a team of archaeologists in the late-twentieth-century, where an eleven-seat early-nineteenth-century privy was discovered with artifacts dating from the circa 1770-1820 period. These artifacts represent some of the types of wares, which were available during the period in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area. The ceramic collection includes wares that were imported from China, Europe and Japan; however, Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware and locally produced red earthenware was also represented.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

 Spencer-Peirce-Little House Parlor - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Spencer-Peirce-Little House Living Room - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

The following description was provided by Historic New England, and it represents the history of ownership at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

1635-1651: Spencer Ownership: First Settlement
"The site was first settled by John Spencer in 1635 when he was granted a 400-acre parcel as part of the first allocation of land to new settlers. The town also granted him a house lot of four acres near the landing site in the Parker River.

In 1637, Spencer was disarmed for being a supporter of Anne Hutchinson and part of a heretical sect. He left Newbury, and gave his property to his nephew. John Spencer died in England in 1648, and his nephew sold the property to Daniel Peirce."

1651-1778: Peirce Ownership: Colonial Farm
"Daniel Peirce, Sr. came to Newbury from Watertown, Massachusetts in 1638. He took an active role in the affairs of the new town, and was engaged in blacksmithing, malt-making, farming and cattle raising. The house remained in the Peirce family until 1778."

1778-1861: Tracy, Boardman, Pettengill Ownership: A Country Estate
"In 1778, Newburyport merchant, Nathaniel Tracy purchased the farm from the Peirce descendants. Tracy's ownership inaugurated an era when the house served as a country seat for prominent families in nearby Newburyport.

The property was sold to Offin Boardman when Nathaniel Tracy died in 1796. Boardman used the house for family quarters and also for servants. 

Boardman died in 1812, and John Pettengill purchased the farm at auction, also in 1812. Pettengill seems to have used the home as a summer house, leasing portions of the property to tenant farmers."

1851-1986: Little Ownership: A Family Farm
"In 1851, Edward Little, a descendant of early settlers of Newbury leased the farm from the Pettengill heirs. By 1861, his hard work and shrewd business investments made it possible for him to purchase the farm outright. The farm remained in the Little family until it was acquired by Historic New England in 1986. Historic New England also acquired all of the Little family's furnishings with the property, which included a variety of locally produced products that remained in their original context of ownership."

Portrait of Nathaniel Tracy

1751-1796

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Portrait of Offin Boardman

1747/48-1811

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England & Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Mass.

I have written a few articles this week, which showed some of the locally produced red earthenware that was recovered from the eleven-seat circa 1770-1820 privy at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm. However, eighteenth-century stoneware was also discovered in the same archaeological context as was the red earthenware. The stoneware artifacts include an English salt-glazed scratch blue chamber pot that was likely produced during the circa 1765-1795 period, and domestic stoneware, which was manufactured in Charlestown, Massachusetts in the 1790's.

The Charlestown stoneware is especially interesting since it likely proves that Charlestown wares were exported to Newburyport in the 1790s. It also appears that the Charlestown stoneware potters, Fredrick Carpenter and Jonathan Fenton established their business in the 1790s with the intent to sell wares elsewhere in New England, which expanded their production ability outside of the Boston market.

For example, stoneware that was made by Carpenter has been recovered in late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century archaeological contexts in places, such as Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Newburyport, Massachusetts and Salem, Massachusetts. Interestingly, the Charlestown red earthenware industry operated in a similar manner prior to the American Revolution.

It would appear (to me) that Fenton's ability to export stoneware was extremely limited since he only worked in Charlestown during the circa 1793-1796 period. Soon after, he appeared as a stoneware potter in Vermont.

Although, the fact that Carpenter and Fenton's stoneware appears in a late-eighteenth-century context at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm may explain why some of the stoneware produced by William Pecker in Merrimacport, Massachusetts takes on an appearance of the wares produced in Charlestown. Pecker may have been influenced by the stoneware that was exported to Newburyport.

Note: I also want to emphasize that the red earthenware, which I wrote about the last two days was recovered in the same late-eighteenth-century context within the privy. I believe it was all locally produced in the Newburyport-area. It may have been made at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company, or at another Newburyport-area potter's business.

Previous Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Red Earthenware Articles:
Link to first article about red earthenware recovered at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.
Link to second article about red earthenware recovered at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Stoneware, Newbury, Mass.

English Stoneware Chamber Pot

18th Century Salt-Glazed Scratch Blue Stoneware Chamber Pot

Recovered from Circa 1770-1820 Privy at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Production Period: Circa 1765-1795

Chamber Pot was Found Mixed in with All the American Stoneware and Red Earthenware

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass. - Historic New England

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Stoneware, Newbury, Mass.
Charlestown, Mass. Stoneware

Late-18th Century Stoneware Jug Sherds Decorated with an Incised Cobalt Fish

Attributed to Jonathan Fenton - Charlestown, Mass.

Recovered from Circa 1770-1820 Privy at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Production Period: Circa 1793-1796

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass. - Historic New England

Late-18th Century Stoneware Jug Sherds Likely Made in Charlestown, Mass.

Attributed to Fredrick Carpenter - Charlestown, Mass.

Recovered from Circa 1770-1820 Privy at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Production Period: Circa Late-18th Century

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass. - Historic New England

William Pecker Stoneware Sherds

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Stoneware Sherds

Recovered at the Site of William Pecker's Stoneware Pottery in Merrimacport, Mass.

Production Period: Late-18th or Early-19th Century

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

19th Century Japanese Earthenware Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts

The Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American homestead/farm located in Newbury, Massachusetts. The property's original seventeenth-century stone home still stands today, where eighteenth-century additions have also been added. The original stone house was built in a classic English style.

A section of the property was excavated by a team of archaeologists in the late-twentieth-century, where an eleven-seat early-nineteenth-century privy was discovered with artifacts dating from the circa 1770-1820 period. However, additional aspects of the property were also excavated, where ceramics used during other periods on the farm were uncovered. Overall, the artifacts represent some of the types of wares, which were available during the periods in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area. The ceramic collection includes wares that were imported from China, Europe and Japan; although, Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware and locally produced red earthenware was also represented.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

The following description was provided by Historic New England, and it represents the history of ownership at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

1635-1651: Spencer Ownership: First Settlement
"The site was first settled by John Spencer in 1635 when he was granted a 400-acre parcel as part of the first allocation of land to new settlers. The town also granted him a house lot of four acres near the landing site in the Parker River.

In 1637, Spencer was disarmed for being a supporter of Anne Hutchinson and part of a heretical sect. He left Newbury, and gave his property to his nephew. John Spencer died in England in 1648, and his nephew sold the property to Daniel Peirce."

1651-1778: Peirce Ownership: Colonial Farm
"Daniel Peirce, Sr. came to Newbury from Watertown, Massachusetts in 1638. He took an active role in the affairs of the new town, and was engaged in blacksmithing, malt-making, farming and cattle raising. The house remained in the Peirce family until 1778."

1778-1861: Tracy, Boardman, Pettengill Ownership: A Country Estate
"In 1778, Newburyport merchant, Nathaniel Tracy purchased the farm from the Peirce descendants. Tracy's ownership inaugurated an era when the house served as a country seat for prominent families in nearby Newburyport.

The property was sold to Offin Boardman when Nathaniel Tracy died in 1796. Boardman used the house for family quarters and also for servants. 

Boardman died in 1812, and John Pettengill purchased the farm at auction, also in 1812. Pettengill seems to have used the home as a summer house, leasing portions of the property to tenant farmers."

1851-1986: Little Ownership: A Family Farm
"In 1851, Edward Little, a descendant of early settlers of Newbury leased the farm from the Pettengill heirs. By 1861, his hard work and shrewd business investments made it possible for him to purchase the farm outright. The farm remained in the Little family until it was acquired by Historic New England in 1986. Historic New England also acquired all of the Little family's furnishings with the property, which included a variety of locally produced products that remained in their original context of ownership."

Recently, when I visited Boston University's Archaeology Department, I was introduced to a type of Japanese earthenware, which was uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in a circa 1870s context during the Little family's occupancy. These objects were identified by Boston University archaeologist, Mary Beaudry, who described them as Japanese Water Drop Ware, which was a form of pottery imported into America in the second-half of the nineteenth-century.

Artifacts from this type of Japanese earthenware have also reportedly been recovered at the Narbonne House in Salem, Massachusetts, and at a nineteenth-century boardinghouse in Lowell, Massachusetts.

According to an article written by Mary Beaudry for the '2004 Edition of Ceramics in America', "In the late-1980s, we found a single potsherd of this ware beneath the kitchen floor of the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm; this was a rim sherd - a lid seating for a vessel like a tea canister. 

In 1996, (further) excavations at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm began to turn up numerous examples, and soon we had enough fragments to make up at least one teapot and one tea canister."

Further Ceramics in America Reading:
Link to Mary Beaudy's article, 'A Pernicious Influence? Japanese Water Drop Ware.'
Link to Pictures from Mary Beaudy's article, 'A Pernicious Influence? Japanese Water Drop Ware'.


Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Kitchen, Newbury, Mass.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Kitchen - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass - Historic New England

Sherds Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

 Late-19th Century Japanese Water Drop Ware Earthenware Teapot Sherds

Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Mass.

Found in an 1870s Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston University Archaeology Department

Teapot Recently Found in New Hampshire

 Late-19th Century Japanese Water Drop Ware Earthenware Teapot

Sherds from this Type of Product were Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

Circa 1870s

This Teapot was Recently Found in New Hampshire

Photo Courtesy: Private Newburyport, Mass. Collection

 Another View of the Teapot

Photo Courtesy: Private Newburyport, Mass. Collection

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Private Newburyport, Mass. Collection

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

A Pair of 18th Century Red Earthenware Pans that were Uncovered in a Privy at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts

The Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American homestead/farm located in Newbury, Massachusetts. The property's original seventeenth-century stone home still stands today, where eighteenth-century additions have also been added. The original stone house was built in a classic English style.

A section of the property was excavated by a team of archaeologists in the late-twentieth-century, where an eleven-seat early-nineteenth-century privy was discovered with artifacts dating from the circa 1770-1820 period. These artifacts represent some of the types of wares, which were available during the period in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area. The ceramic collection includes wares that were imported from China, Europe and Japan; however, Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware and locally produced red earthenware was also represented.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Archaeology at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Newbury, Mass.

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

The following description was provided by Historic New England, and it represents the history of ownership at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

1635-1651: Spencer Ownership: First Settlement
"The site was first settled by John Spencer in 1635 when he was granted a 400-acre parcel as part of the first allocation of land to new settlers. The town also granted him a house lot of four acres near the landing site in the Parker River.

In 1637, Spencer was disarmed for being a supporter of Anne Hutchinson and part of a heretical sect. He left Newbury, and gave his property to his nephew. John Spencer died in England in 1648, and his nephew sold the property to Daniel Peirce."

1651-1778: Peirce Ownership: Colonial Farm
"Daniel Peirce, Sr. came to Newbury from Watertown, Massachusetts in 1638. He took an active role in the affairs of the new town, and was engaged in blacksmithing, malt-making, farming and cattle raising. The house remained in the Peirce family until 1778."

1778-1861: Tracy, Boardman, Pettengill Ownership: A Country Estate
"In 1778, Newburyport merchant, Nathaniel Tracy purchased the farm from the Peirce descendants. Tracy's ownership inaugurated an era when the house served as a country seat for prominent families in nearby Newburyport.

The property was sold to Offin Boardman when Nathaniel Tracy died in 1796. Boardman used the house for family quarters and also for servants. 

Boardman died in 1812, and John Pettengill purchased the farm at auction, also in 1812. Pettengill seems to have used the home as a summer house, leasing portions of the property to tenant farmers."

1851-1986: Little Ownership: A Family Farm
"In 1851, Edward Little, a descendant of early settlers of Newbury leased the farm from the Pettengill heirs. By 1861, his hard work and shrewd business investments made it possible for him to purchase the farm outright. The farm remained in the Little family until it was acquired by Historic New England in 1986. Historic New England also acquired all of the Little family's furnishings with the property, which included a variety of locally produced products that remained in their original context of ownership."

Yesterday, I showed three of the red earthenware objects, which were recovered from the circa 1770-1820 privy at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm; these objects were involved with the Tracy, Boardman and Pettengill occupancy/ownership. However, it is difficult to prove which family (or families) would have owned these objects.

Today, I have two more manganese decorated red earthenware pans to show from that same archaeological context, which were also likely made in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area in the late-eighteenth-century. It is also possible that all of the red earthenware pans discovered in this privy were made at the same potter's business. But that theory is still under investigation today.

Nevertheless, the following two objects exhibit a style of manganese decoration, which is also seen on a matching pair of eighteenth-century red earthenware pitchers owned by Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The pitchers were donated by Brentwood, New Hampshire antiques dealer, Roger Bacon in 1975, who presumably must have found them locally in New Hampshire (see museum's identification card below). The pitchers were gifted by Bacon along with a group of Essex County, Massachusetts red earthenware that included products from the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company (circa 1764-1799) in Newburyport, as-well-as the William Pecker Pottery (circa 1790-1820) in Merrimacport, Massachusetts.

Generally, I believe the pair of pitchers that are owned by Strawbery Banke would often be attributed to Connecticut today due to how the manganese was applied. On the other hand, this was also an early Essex County, Massachusetts characteristic, which has been proven thanks to Roger Bacon's generous donation, and the archaeology at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

Note: The eighteenth-century red earthenware potteries in the Newburyport-area were larger than what is generally understood today. For example, the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company produced red earthenware from circa 1764-1799. This was a full time business, which archaeological evidence shows the company's products were exported elsewhere in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. However, this was not the only known Newburyport potter's business before 1800, either.

The Daniel Bayley Pottery Company is also regarded as a business that regularly applied slip-decoration to its red earthenware. But that was not the only type of decoration that was used at this company; although, it was the type of decoration that Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins largely focused on in her book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares.'

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

 Late-18th Century Red Earthenware Pan 

Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Newburyport, Mass.

Likely from a Local Newburyport, Mass. Red Earthenware Potter

Uncovered in a Circa 1770-1820 Privy

Manganese Decoration is Similar to the Pitchers Discussed Below

Photo Courtesy Boston University Archaeology Department

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy Boston University Archaeology Department

 Late-18th Century Red Earthenware Pan 

Uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Newburyport, Mass.

Likely from a Local Newburyport, Mass. Red Earthenware Potter

Uncovered in a Circa 1770-1820 Privy

Manganese Decoration is Similar to the Pitchers Discussed Below

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass. - Historic New England

Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH

Pitcher Number 1

18th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

A Pair of These Pitchers Were Donated to the Museum by Roger Bacon in 1975

Decoration is Similar to the Pans Above from the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

The Pans Above Were Probably Made in Newburyport, Mass.

Museum Suggests a Circa 1764-1795 Production Date

The Daniel Bayley Pottery Company Operated During a Similar Period in Newburyport, Mass.

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

 Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

Pitcher Number 2

18th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

A Pair of These Pitchers Were Donated to the Museum by Roger Bacon in 1975

Decoration is Similar to the Pans Above from the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

The Pans Above Were Probably Made in Newburyport, Mass.

Museum Suggests a Circa 1764-1795 Production Date

The Daniel Bayley Pottery Company Operated During a Similar Period in Newburyport, Mass.

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

View of the Museum's Description

The Museum Suggests a Circa 1764-1795 Production Date

The Daniel Bayley Pottery Company Operated Circa 1764-1799 in Newburyport, Mass.

Although, I Do Not Believe This Object was Made in New Hampshire

But I Do Believe These Pitchers Were Found in New Hampshire by Roger Bacon

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

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

A Red Earthenware Pot Owned by the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts

The Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American homestead/farm located in Newbury, Massachusetts. The property's original seventeenth-century stone home still stands today, where eighteenth-century additions have also been added. The original stone house was built in a classic English style.

A section of the property was excavated by a team of archaeologists in the late-twentieth-century, where an eleven-seat early-nineteenth-century privy was discovered with artifacts dating from the circa 1770-1820 period. These artifacts represent some of the types of wares, which were available during the period in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area. The ceramic collection includes wares that were imported from China, Europe and Japan; however, Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware and locally produced red earthenware was also represented.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

The following description was provided by Historic New England, and it represents the history of ownership at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

1635-1651: Spencer Ownership: First Settlement
"The site was first settled by John Spencer in 1635 when he was granted a 400-acre parcel as part of the first allocation of land to new settlers. The town also granted him a house lot of four acres near the landing site in the Parker River.

In 1637, Spencer was disarmed for being a supporter of Anne Hutchinson and part of a heretical sect. He left Newbury, and gave his property to his nephew. John Spencer died in England in 1648, and his nephew sold the property to Daniel Peirce."

1651-1778: Peirce Ownership: Colonial Farm
"Daniel Peirce, Sr. came to Newbury from Watertown, Massachusetts in 1638. He took an active role in the affairs of the new town, and was engaged in blacksmithing, malt-making, farming and cattle raising. The house remained in the Peirce family until 1778."

1778-1861: Tracy, Boardman, Pettengill Ownership: A Country Estate
"In 1778, Newburyport merchant, Nathaniel Tracy purchased the farm from the Peirce descendants. Tracy's ownership inaugurated an era when the house served as a country seat for prominent families in nearby Newburyport.

The property was sold to Offin Boardman when Nathaniel Tracy died in 1796. Boardman used the house for family quarters and also for servants. 

Boardman died in 1812, and John Pettengill purchased the farm at auction, also in 1812. Pettengill seems to have used the home as a summer house, leasing portions of the property to tenant farmers."

1851-1986: Little Ownership: A Family Farm
"In 1851, Edward Little, a descendant of early settlers of Newbury leased the farm from the Pettengill heirs. By 1861, his hard work and shrewd business investments made it possible for him to purchase the farm outright. The farm remained in the Little family until it was acquired by Historic New England in 1986. Historic New England also acquired all of the Little family's furnishings with the property, which included a variety of locally produced products that remained in their original context of ownership."

It is quite rare today to find any type of pottery still in its original context of ownership; however, I recently visited the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, where I saw a green and orange glazed red earthenware jardiniere, which was still used as it would have been when it was purchased brand new well-over 100 years ago. 

The pot was made at the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts, circa 1897-1908.

The museum had placed a potted plant inside of the jardiniere, and this is also likely how this object may have been used in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries. The pot sat in the middle of a formal table, which appeared to have been made in the Newburyport-area in the late-eighteenth-century.

This pot would have been used during the Little family's ownership; although, it is not known if the family acquired this jardiniere from a store (or merchant) in the Newburyport-area or if it was purchased directly from the Merrimac Pottery Company before 1908.

The Room Where the Jardiniere is Kept Today

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England 

19th/20th Century Red Earthenware Jardiniere

Made at the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1897-1908

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England 

 View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England 

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England 

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

A Group of Red Earthenware Pans Recovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts

The Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm is a Colonial American homestead/farm located in Newbury, Massachusetts. The property's original seventeenth-century stone home still stands today, where eighteenth-century additions have also been added. The original stone house was built in a classic English style.

A section of the property was excavated by a team of archaeologists in the late-twentieth-century, where an eleven-seat early-nineteenth-century privy was discovered with artifacts dating from the circa 1770-1820 period. These artifacts represent the types of wares, which were available during the period in the Newburyport, Massachusetts-area. The ceramic collection includes wares that were imported from China, Europe and Japan; however, Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware and locally produced red earthenware was also represented.

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Mass.

 Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

The following description was provided by Historic New England, and it represents the history of ownership at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm.

1635-1651: Spencer Ownership: First Settlement
"The site was first settled by John Spencer in 1635 when he was granted a 400-acre parcel as part of the first allocation of land to new settlers. The town also granted him a house lot of four acres near the landing site in the Parker River.

In 1637, Spencer was disarmed for being a supporter of Anne Hutchinson and part of a heretical sect. He left Newbury, and gave his property to his nephew. John Spencer died in England in 1648, and his nephew sold the property to Daniel Peirce."

1651-1778: Peirce Ownership: Colonial Farm
"Daniel Peirce, Sr. came to Newbury from Watertown, Massachusetts in 1638. He took an active role in the affairs of the new town, and was engaged in blacksmithing, malt-making, farming and cattle raising. The house remained in the Peirce family until 1778."

1778-1861: Tracy, Boardman, Pettengill Ownership: A Country Estate
"In 1778, Newburyport merchant, Nathaniel Tracy purchased the farm from the Peirce descendants. Tracy's ownership inaugurated an era when the house served as a country seat for prominent families in nearby Newburyport.

The property was sold to Offin Boardman when Nathaniel Tracy died in 1796. Boardman used the house for family quarters and also for servants. 

Boardman died in 1812, and John Pettengill purchased the farm at auction, also in 1812. Pettengill seems to have used the home as a summer house, leasing portions of the property to tenant farmers."

1851-1986: Little Ownership: A Family Farm
"In 1851, Edward Little, a descendant of early settlers of Newbury leased the farm from the Pettengill heirs. By 1861, his hard work and shrewd business investments made it possible for him to purchase the farm outright. The farm remained in the Little family until it was acquired by Historic New England in 1986. Historic New England also acquired all of the Little family's furnishings with the property, which included a variety of locally produced products that remained in their original context of ownership."

The following three red earthenware pans were all recovered from the eleven-seat privy. They are all believed to be from a local manufacturer, as well.

The privy was basically used during the Tracy, Boardman and Pettengill ownerships, which makes it difficult to determine the family (or families), who would have originally used these objects. But it does appear that these pans may have been manufactured in the late-eighteenth-century, despite this type of form (and glaze) traditionally having been interpreted as a nineteenth-century northern New England style today.

It was also a similar scenario with the Charlestown, Massachusetts potter's industry, where there have been red earthenware pans recovered in privies in Charlestown in a pre-1775 archaeological contexts, although, (without that documented information), these objects would likely be attributed to a nineteenth-century location (or potter) today.

It is interesting to see these type of objects from the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm since they would likely be attributed to Maine due to the color of the glaze. However, these objects are more refined than most of the typical Maine-made pans, which survive today. This also demonstrates how building an attribution on only a glaze can be very risky.

I have also shown a pan from my collection, which was found years ago in a vintage shop in downtown Newburyport. The manufacture of the pan, the clay color and the glaze color is very-similar to the pans that were uncovered at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, but it may also have been made in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Note: The eighteenth-century red earthenware potteries in the Newburyport area were larger than what is generally understood today. For example, the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company produced red earthenware from circa 1764-1799. This was a full time business, which archaeological evidence shows the company's products were exported elsewhere in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. However, this was not the only known Newburyport potter's business before 1800, either.

Pans Recovered at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Mass.

 18th/19th C. Red Earthenware Pan Recovered at the Spencer Peirce Little Farm - Newbury, MA

Probably Made in Newburyport, Mass.

Recovered in a Circa 1770-1820 Context

This Type of Glazed Object Would Likely be Attributed to Maine Today

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England

 18th/19th C. Red Earthenware Pan Recovered at the Spencer Peirce Little Farm - Newbury, MA

Probably Made in Newburyport, Mass.

Recovered in a Circa 1770-1820 Context

This Type of Glazed Object Would Likely be Attributed to Maine Today

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England

 18th/19th C. Red Earthenware Pan Recovered at the Spencer Peirce Little Farm - Newbury, MA

Probably Made in Newburyport, Mass.

Recovered in a Circa 1770-1820 Context

This Type of Glazed Object Would Likely be Attributed to Maine Today

Photo Courtesy: Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm - Historic New England 

Pan Found in Newburyport, Mass.

18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Pan Found in a Shop in Newburyport, Mass.

The Form, Clay Color, Refinement and Glaze is Very Similar to the Pans Shown Above

This Pan is Especially Similar to the First Pan Shown Above

But this Pan Also May Have Been Made in Portsmouth, NH

Measures 15 3/4" in Diameter

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