A Late-19th or Early-20th Century Object that Recently Appeared at an Antique Shop with its Original Label

The other day, I visited an antique shop along coastal New England, where I was surprised to see a late-nineteenth or early-twentieth-century wooden birdcage, which included the original stoneware water cup (see below, back left corner). In recent years, I have also heard of these type of birdcages referred to as a "miner's birdcage."

According to the United States Department of Labor, "For centuries, miners have brought canary birds down into their mines to warn them of potential disaster. If a tunnel or shaft collapsed or was blocked, thereby diminishing the oxygen supply, the canary would be the first to react, usually die, alerting the miners to trouble and to immediately vacate the mine."

Every now and again, I see these type of stoneware water cups removed from the birdcage for sale in shops, at flea markets, in box lots at auctions, etc. I have also seen these type of objects discovered at archaeological sites, as-well-as removed from nineteenth and early-twentieth-century privies (trash pits) found at various locations in America.

Historic New England even owns a nineteenth-century red earthenware "miner's" birdcage feeding dish, which was made by John Bell (1800-1880) in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania (see below). The small object is stamped with Bell's mark, and it is a part of the Nina Fletcher Little Collection at Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts.

However, it is somewhat rare today to find a "miner's" birdcage that still retains its original feeder or water cup. Nonetheless, it is even rarer to find a "miner's" birdcage, which still retains its original label from a retailer in Boston; although, that was the case with the birdcage that I recently saw at Brentwood Antiques in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.

The label reads, "Established 1883 / Lang Bros. Bird Store / Importers and Dealers / Parrots, Canaries & All Supplies / Selected Boston Terriers and / French Bulls at Stud & For Sale / 11 Portland St., Boston, Mass / Telephone 3095-J Haymarket."

I also question whether these type of birdcages should all be called a "miner's birdcage" since I think the birdcage that I saw in the antique shop may have instead been used by the store in order for a customer to transport a bird home. Afterwards, the bird may have been moved into a larger birdcage.

Presumably, this birdcage and its stoneware water cup must have been manufactured during the circa 1883-1920 period, as-a-result of the 1921 Boston City Directory, where the name of the company had changed to 'Lang Bros. Birds & Animals Store.'

Note: I have also shown a similar birdcage and its stoneware water cup, which were found a few years ago at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Massachusetts. It is possible that this birdcage was originally sold by a similar pet store in New England in the late-nineteenth or early-twentieth-century. Additionally, I have shown a stoneware water cup that had been removed from its birdcage, which was also found at Todd's Farm Flea Market in 2015.

Birdcage with Original Label with Ties to Boston

Late-19th or Early-20th Century Birdcage with Stoneware Water Cup 

See Back Left Corner

Retains Original Label from Boston Retailer

Circa 1883-1920

Similar Size as is the Birdcage Shown Below

Photo Courtesy: Brentwood Antiques - Hampton Falls, NH

Similar Bird Cage Found at a Mass. Flea Market

Late-19th or Early-20th Century Birdcage with Stoneware Water Cup 

Found a Few Years Ago at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Mass.

Cage Measures 5 7/8" (H) by 6 1/2" (W)

Photo Courtesy: Brentwood Antiques - Hampton Falls, NH

 Another View of the Birdcage

View of the Stoneware Water Cup

Stoneware Water Cup Found at a Mass. Flea Market

 Late-19th or Early-20th Century Stoneware Water Cup

Used in a Birdcage

Likely Made by an American Stoneware Potter

Stands 2 1/8" Tall

Found at Todd's Farm Flea Market in Rowley, Mass. in 2015

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

John Bell Dish Owned by Historic New England

19th Century Red Earthenware Birdcage Feeding Dish

Made by John Bell in Waynesboro, PA

Nina Fletcher Little Collection, Cogswell's Grant - Essex, Mass.

Circa 1850-1880

Measures 1 1/4" (H) by 3 1/2" (W)

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

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

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar that was Found in Ohio Almost 25-Years Ago

This is a nineteenth-century red earthenware jar that I recently acquired from Karen Fults, who is an antiques collector living in Lakeview, Ohio. According to Karen, "This jar was found in Ohio about twenty-five years ago."

The jar is prominently marked, "A. CULLEN." However, I have not been able to determine whether Cullen was a merchant or a potter. But it does appear that the letters may have been applied individually, which may indicate that this was not a regular mark.

When I initially saw the size and tapered form of this object, it reminded me about similar large tapered jars that I have seen made in southern New Hampshire, coastal Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut in the 1800's. The form of the jars all vary, but the basic idea behind the larger size and the tapered form is similar (see below).

I have not conducted a lot of research about the name "A. CULLEN," but Cullen was a common name in New England in the nineteenth-century. It was especially a common name in coastal Massachusetts, in areas, such as Essex County, Massachusetts, where there were well-over one-hundred documented potters in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

I should also mention that this jar was manufactured with a lighter colored clay, which is a clay color found on red earthenware produced throughout New England. This jar would have also originally retained a lid as there is a lid rest inside the rim.

I have also included photos of known marked objects in New England museum collections, which were marked with similar serif fonts. The first object is owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, which is marked "APELTON". The maker of this jar is currently unknown, but it may be from a Massachusetts potter. The second object is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and it also retains a history of ownership in Salem, which dates back to the nineteenth-century. The pot is marked "B.O. PIERCE," where the mark almost certainly represents a merchant. This pot was also likely made in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Note: Merchant marked red earthenware is not common in New England, but it is not uncommon, either. I have seen merchant marked pottery that was applied in a similar style, where the name was stamped with individual letters. Although, I have also seen ink stamps used for Boston retailers, which was usually applied to an unglazed base after 1850.

Red earthenware marked with a potter's name is not common in New England, either, but there are also known examples, which exist today.

Two Large Tapered Jars

 (Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Possibly of Massachusetts Origin

The Large Tapered Form is Similar to the Jar of Discussion

This Jar Never Had a Lid

Circa 1790-1860

Stands 12 1/2" Tall

Jar Found in Ohio About 25-Years Ago

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Marked 'A. CULLEN' Possibly of New England Origin

Similar Large Tapered Jars Are Known from NH, MA and CT
Found in Ohio About 25-Years Ago

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 11 1/8" Tall

 View of the 'A. CULLEN' Mark

It Appears that Each Letter May Have Been Applied Individually with a Serif Font
The Name Cullen is Common to New England in the 1800's
This May be a Potter's Name or a Merchant's Name

Another View of the Jar

 View of the Interior

This Jar was Originally Made with a Lid

View of the Base

Notice the Lighter Colored Clay

Old Sturbridge Village Jar

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Marked "APELTON"

Made in New England

Possibly Made by a Massachusetts Potter

It is Not Currently Known if the Mark is from a Merchant or a Potter
This Jar was Also Stamped with a Serif Font

Circa 1820-1860

Stands Approximately 10" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, MA

Another View of the Mark

Photo Courtesy: Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, MA

Peabody Essex Museum Pot

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Marked "B.O. PIERCE"

Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

The Mark is Likely from a Merchant
This Pot was Also Stamped with a Serif Font

Stands Approximately 7" Tall

Circa 1850-1890

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

Another View of the Pot

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

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

An Article Written by Donald Blake Webster: "On the Digging of Potteries

Recently, I was reading an article written by Donald Blake Webster (a curator for the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario) for the 'Magazine Antiques,' where he discussed what should be emphasized 'On the Digging of Potteries.' I thought this entire article was worth sharing since it really describes the facts as to how a potter's site may appear today. I have also highlighted in bold some of the details that I thought were important to know.

"In studying early pottery one sooner or later turns to archaeology to establish a reasonable and accurate connection between surviving objects, whose provenance is not known and documentary research into potters and potteries.

The methods of excavating early potteries are determined largely by logic and experience. Archaeological digging of this kind requires the background, money, time, physical facilities, and access to specialized analytical talent to glean all the information inherent in a site, and to assess full and publish the results. Careful and often slow digging, keeping good records, and cleaning and reconstructing the artifacts recovered are essential. Moreover, the results of even a well-done dig left unpublished are useless to everyone, but the digger.

Assuming the ideal, that a site has been undisturbed, former buildings may still be visible as mounds outlining foundations, for an abandoned pottery can easily become overgrown and covered with topsoil within half a century. Most undisturbed pottery sites have quantities of potsherds and sometimes brick lying on the surface, pushed up by frost and the growth of roots. The nature of these remains can provide a rough indication of what is likely to be found by excavating.

The underground remains of most North American pottery sites consist of production buildings, kilns, and waster dumps. Generally speaking, the buildings are archaeologically the least important of the three. Any structure could serve as a pottery shop, and shops and storage buildings were usually abandoned and empty before their demolition or eventual collapse.

The remains of kilns -- usually only their brick or stone floors or bases -- are most important. They indicate the kiln's shape and what type of draft it had, while the surrounding rubble usually provides clues as to its upper structure. Remains or outlines of fireplace bases (generally two or four in North American earthenware kilns) are often evident, and sometimes traces of the vertical structure of the fireplaces are found, as well. Alongside the remains of the kilns there are often setting tiles, stilts, wedges, and saggars, which serve as evidence of firing techniques. Occasionally, there are even sherds and pottery dating from the time of the final firing of the kiln.

Waster dumps, usually located near the kilns, contain pottery rejected for one reason or another during production. Over the years the piles often grew to between three and five feet deep and spread over an entire pottery yard, for the typical earthenware pottery was hardly a tidy operation. Because waster dumps always contain many essentially identical pots, all fragmentary, digging must be very methodical. The process is somewhat akin to working on ten thousand different jigsaw puzzles, each with pieces missing, but with a hundred thousand extra pieces thrown in which fit none of the puzzles. Objects found in and around a kiln can be associated with its last firings. This is not the case with waster dumps, which although far more productive of masses of material and reconstructible examples, are more difficult to dig and to interpret. 

No two excavators agree on the best methodology for digging waster dumps, and indeed conditions probably vary too much for there to be a single, ideal method. Some prefer to dig every sherd from the full depth of a five-foot square and depend on acres of table space and hundreds of hours to make something of it all. Others, without this sort of space or time, virtually reconstruct pottery in the ground with a trowel in one hand, a roll of masking tape on the other wrist, and a pile of paper bags alongside in which to put pots that have been taped together.

The primary drawback of waster dumps is that they represent only the pottery's rejects, not its full production. What is found in them is most useful for technical analyses of the potter and identification of types of objects made. They do not, however, offer valid clues to dates, total production, percentages of different types of objects made, or pottery successfully fired and sold.

Pottery thrown on a waster dump usually shows visible signs of why it was rejected. Much was discarded after the first, or biscuit, firing and is discolored or misshapen owing to reduction or overfiring. Occasionally biscuit-fired earthenware was covered with lead oxide glaze before being discarded, but as this pottery was never refired, the glaze appears as a coating of orange-red powder. Stilts, saggers, pins, and other kiln furniture turn up in quantity in waster dumps. One also finds sherds fused together or finished and distorted pots, indicating that all or part of a kiln load of stacked pottery collapsed during firing. Inappropriate glaze mixtures or glazes fired at too hot a temperature appear bubbled or discolored, while structurally weak pottery consistently shows fractures in the same place. 

Information gleaned from kilns and waster dumps, when correlated with analyses of the glazes and bodies of pottery recovered, provides a very good over-all interpretation of the technical level of pottery operations. Moreover, there is no reason to doubt that recoveries from early pottery sites represent most of the forms produced at the potteries. The pottery excavated thus provides a reliable and precise key to attributing existing intact pieces."

Note: I think the following group of photographs help support Donald Blake Webster, when he wrote, "No two excavators agree on the best methodology for digging waster dumps, and indeed conditions probably vary too much for there to be a single, ideal method."

Potter's Kiln and Waster Dump in North Yarmouth, ME

19th Century Potter's Kiln and Waster Pile in North Yarmouth, Maine

Circa 1910

Local Industry Circa Late-18th Century to Late-19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Yarmouth, Maine Historical Society

Waster Dump in Conostogo, ON

William Eby Pottery Waster Pile - Conostogo, Ontario

Circa 1855-1907

Site was Excavated in 1967-1968

Photo Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum - Toronto, ON

Kiln Waste in Merrimacport, MA

William Pecker May Have Disposed Kiln Waste into the Merrimac River in Merrimacport, MA

Circa 1784-1820

Many Artifacts Have Been Recovered on the Shore

Pecker May Have Disposed Some Kiln Waste into the River

But the Details are Not Entirely Known

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

18th Century English Slipware and Portsmouth, New Hampshire

According to the book, 'Norton Stoneware and American Redware: The Bennington, Vermont Museum Collection,' "Among the ceramics imported into eighteenth-century America were Chinese porcelain, and English white-salt glazed stoneware, cream-colored earthenware and common yellow earthenware. 

Jonathan Warner of Portsmouth, New Hampshire advertised 'common yellow Ware' in 1762, Peirse Long (also of Portsmouth, New Hampshire) sold 'yellow Earthen Ware' in 1767, and Samuel Griffith (also of Portsmouth, New Hampshire) had in stock in 1773 'Spotted Earthen Ware Porringers.'

Much slip-decorated earthenware, and earthenware with a clear glaze, both known as 'slipware,' was made in Staffordshire, England in the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries. These ceramics have been found in homes and archaeological sites in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as Virginia, suggesting that they were distributed up and down the eastern seaboard."

The following objects are likely examples of the types of slipware, which would have been handled by Jonathan Warner, Peirse Long and Samuel Griffith in the 1760's and 1770's in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Coincidentally, these objects also retain a history of ownership in Portsmouth.

18th Century English Slipware

18th Century Slip-Decorated Earthenware Pitcher Probably Made in Staffordshire, England

This is the Type of Object that was Described in Portsmouth, NH in the 1760's ands 1770's

Photo Courtesy: Private Portsmouth, NH Collection

18th Century Slip-Decorated Earthenware Pitcher and Cup Probably Made in Staffordshire, England

These are the Type of Objects, Which were Described in Portsmouth, NH in the 1760's ands 1770's

Photo Courtesy: Private Portsmouth, NH Collection

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

Two Rare Green-Glazed Red Earthenware Lighting Devices Which are Owned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts

I recently saw a green-glazed red earthenware candlestick that is owned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The candlestick was acquired by the museum in 1977, but it also retains a local history of ownership.

According to the Whaling Museum, "This green glazed candlestick is possibly Asian. It was made with a dish base, which has upturned edges and a tapered stem in the center. The candle socket is unusual and removable, where a long metal piece fits into the stem, which is topped by a red earthenware drip catcher and socket. The bottom of the base is unglazed and the color of sand."

Initially, when I read this description, I was reminded about a pair of flower pot saucers that I own, which were produced in a very-similar style as was the candlestick's dish base. There are also similar flower pots saucers and matching flower pots that are owned by the Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society, Winterthur in Delaware and Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Coincidentally, all of these flower pot saucers and flower pots are attributed to southeastern Massachusetts or possibly Cape Cod in the early-nineteenth-century. New Bedford is located close to where they were manufactured.

Unfortunately, I do not know how the "possible Asian" attribution was developed, but there are certainly some similarities that can be seen with the flower pot saucers and the candlestick's dish base. Additionally, the color of the candlestick's green-glaze is very-similar to the green-glaze that is seen on the following pair of flower pot saucers.

Note: Here is a link to a green-glazed red earthenware lamp that is owned by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which is also said to have been made in another country. However, this object also retains a local history of ownership, and it may as well be a locally made product from southeastern Massachusetts, as well. The reason that I suggest such an attribution is a result of the overall form, the clay color and the color of the green-glaze.

Candlestick

19th Century Green-Glazed Red Earthenware Candlestick

Museum Says it May Have Been Made in Asia

However, the Base is Similar to a Group of Known Flower Pot Saucers that were Made in SE Mass.

According to the Museum, Circa 1800-1965

 Photo Courtesy: New Bedford Whaling Museum - New Bedford, Mass.

Flower Pot Saucers

Early-19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Flower Pot Saucers

Likely Made in Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1800-1830

Ex-Hilary and Paulette Nolan Collection

View of the Base

Flower Pot Saucer

Early-19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Flower Pot Saucer

Likely Made in Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1800-1830

Retains a History of Ownership in Little Compton, RI
Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, RI Historical Society

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

Two Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Objects that are Owned by Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Pictured below are two unusual formed objects that I recently saw in storage at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. These are not the typical formed bowls that were generally produced by American red earthenware potters in the 1800's. Although, it is also interesting to know that these bowls retain a history of ownership in New England before they were acquired by the museum in the 1970's.

The first bowl (or basin) appears like it was produced to have been used as a wash basin, where the smaller bowl (which is attached to the rim) may have held soap. The form seems like it could have been produced by a potter, who also produced shaving cups (or mugs) in the 1800's.

The idea behind this basin's form also slightly reminds me of some rare polychrome red earthenware wash basins that were produced in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in the nineteenth-century. For reference, there are examples of Virginia-made wash basin's documented in some of the books, which have been published on Shenandoah Valley pottery throughout the twentieth-century.

The second bowl was likely intended to have been used as a mixing bowl, where the potter creatively added a pouring spout below the rim. I can not recall having ever seen a similar form in a museum collection or a private collection. But the combination of the form (minus the pouring spout) and the glaze could suggest that this object was made somewhere in northern New England (i.e. New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine), circa 1820-1880.

Red Earthenware Wash Basin

 Large 19th Century Red Earthenware Wash Basin

Retains a History of Ownership in New England

Circa 1820-1880

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

Another View of the Wash Basin

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

View of the Smaller Attached Bowl, Which May Have Held Soap

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

Red Earthenware Mixing Bowl

 19th Century Red Earthenware Mixing Bowl with Pouring Spout

Retains a History of Ownership in New England

Possibly Made in Northern New England (i.e. New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine)

Circa 1820-1880

Stands Approximately 6" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

Another View of the Pouring Spout

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke - Portsmouth, NH

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

A Very Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Well Post Made in Pennsylvania

This is a nineteenth-century red earthenware object, which has always stood out (to me) as one of the rarest forms of American pottery that I have ever seen. This fifteen-inch red earthenware well post was sold by Pook & Pook in Downington, Pennsylvania on November 11, 2011. It was an object that was included in the lifelong collection of Lester Breininger (1935-2011), who was an influential Pennsylvania-German potter in Robesonia, Pennsylvania.

Breininger was known for the red earthenware that he produced that was often decorated with distelfink, which is a stylized goldfinch that regularly appears in Pennsylvania-Dutch/German folk art. Breininger also often decorated his pottery with tulips and other Pennsylvania-Dutch/German cultural symbols.

There is an inscription written in slip on this well post, which reads, "Made By John Ing May Town 1835."

If you look closely, the edges of this object have been decorated in a similar coggled style, which many plates and platters from Pennsylvania were decorated in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. Lester Breininger also decorated some of the plates and platters that he produced in the twentieth and twenty-first-centuries with this type of coggled rim.

Unfortunately, the history of this well post was not included in the catalog that was published by Pook & Pook for Breininger's sale. However, I bet there is a history that is known based on how Breininger collected, and also the dealers, who he regularly purchased Pennsylvania-made red earthenware from (mostly) in the latter years of the twentieth-century (after 1970).

Note: Here is a link that will bring you to the Lester Breininger auction catalog from 2011.

19th Century Red Earthenware Well Post

Very Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Well Post Made in Pennsylvania

Written in Slip, "Made By John Ing May Town 1835"

Circa 1835

Stands 15" Tall

Lester Breininger Collection - Robesonia, PA
Here is a link to this Object's Auction Listing in the Lester Breininger Catalog

Photo Courtesy: Pook & Pook - Downington, PA

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