19th Century Red Earthenware Made for Feeding Animals that was LikelyProduced in Essex County, Massachusetts

Until recently, I never thought that red earthenware made for farms and feeding animals was regularly produced by the potters in Essex County, Massachusetts in the nineteenth-century. I had actually always thought that the majority of this area's production pertained to utilitarian household wares. However, a number of recent discoveries within early Essex County estates has likely proven that objects made to hold food and water for animals was a regular part of some potter's production in Essex County in the 1800's.

All of the following objects were discovered in early-twentieth-century (if not earlier) contexts of ownership in Annisquam, Massachusetts, Beverly, Massachusetts, Gloucester, Massachusetts, Haverhill, Massachusetts and Rowley, Massachusetts.

I have also included two photos of a sherd, which is the top to an animal feeder that was uncovered in a nineteenth-century context in Marblehead, Massachusetts. It was found when an eighteenth-century home was restored in Old Town Marblehead. This sherd was found mixed with a variety of eighteenth and nineteenth-century pottery that is regularly found at archaeology sites throughout coastal Massachusetts. The sherd's finial is very-similar to some of the feeders (see below), which I have found elsewhere in Essex County.

I also want to mention that none of these objects were discovered together in the same home - they were all found separately in different houses. As-a-result, I feel this is an indicator of local production, where related forms or similar forms have been recovered from multiple estates throughout Essex County. It is even more interesting when I say that each of these objects were found in nineteenth-century Essex County garages, barns and cellars.

Note: Last night, I wrote about an impressive pot, which was recently discovered inside an early home in Annisquam, Massachusetts. Today, I have shown a red earthenware animal feeder that was also discovered in this Annisquam home. Here is a link to the article, which further discusses the object that I wrote about last night.

Uncovered in Marblehead, Mass.

 19th Century Animal Feeder Sherd Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

This Object is Similar to Some of the Animal Feeders Shown Below

Uncovered on the Property of an Early Home in Marblehead, Mass.

Circa 1840-1900

Photo Courtesy: Private Massachusetts Collection

View of the Interior of the Sherd

Photo Courtesy: Private Massachusetts Collection

Found in Annisquam, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Recently Found in 2017 Inside an Old Home in Annisquam, Mass.
Circa 1800-1880
Stands 7 1/4" Tall

Another View of the Feeder

Found in Haverhill, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Found in 2016 Inside an Old Home in Haverhill, Mass.
Circa 1800-1880

Stands 7 3/4" Tall

Another View of the Feeder

Found in Gloucester, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Found in 2015 Inside an Old Home in Gloucester, Mass.
Circa 1800-1880

Stands 7 1/8" Tall

Another View of the Feeder

Found in Beverly, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Found in 2014 Inside an Old Home in Beverly, Mass.
Circa 1800-1880
Stands 11 1/2" Tall

View of the Interior

Found in Beverly, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Found in 2014 Inside an Old Home in Beverly, Mass.
Circa 1800-1880

Stands 8 7/8" Tall 

View of the Interior

Found in Rowley, Mass.

19th Century Animal Feeder or Water Cup Likely Made in Essex County, Mass.

Found in Rowley, Mass. in 2014
Circa 1800-1880

Stands 3 1/4" Tall

Measures 6 1/2" in Diameter

View of the Base

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

A Rare Pennsylvania Form: The 19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Onion Planter

To my knowledge: a nineteenth-century red earthenware onion planter is an extremely rare form to find today. The only examples, which I am aware of are owned by Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania. Both examples are profusely decorated in slip-decoration.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art attributes their example to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, circa 1820-1840. It was reportedly acquired by Edwin Atlee Barber (1851-1916) in 1893. Barber was an archaeologist and an author, who was also a ceramics curator at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art; although, the museum is known today as the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Historic Deerfield's pot retains an old note from the early-twentieth-century, which says the object may have been made in Telford, Pennsylvania in the early-nineteenth-century. Telford is a borough in Bucks County and Montgomery County, which is about forty-miles northeast of Philadelphia.

According to Historic Deerfield, "This pot or planter would have been filled with dirt and onion bulbs or flowers would have grown out of the holes. One possible use is for onions; as a spout of an onion pushed through the holes, they could be clipped for cooking."

Note: The big production difference found in these two objects is the fact that the planter owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art sits on a base; while the planter owned by Historic Deerfield was manufactured with a saucer, which is similar to a saucer that would have been attached to a flower pot. The saucer would have used to catch excess water as it drained from the planter.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Onion Planter

Attributed to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Circa 1820-1840

Stands 8 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, PA

Historic Deerfield

Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Onion Planter

Attributed to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Circa 1800-1840

Stands 8 3/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, Mass.

Another View of the Planter

Photo Courtesy: Historic Deerfield - Deerfield, Mass.

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

The 19th Century Osborn Pottery in Gonic, New Hampshire

I do not know where the term, "Gonic, New Hampshire glaze" was established, but it is definitely an attribution that is overused today. In fact, I feel there is no specific attribution that should be termed exclusively as a "Gonic glaze." Although, it is an attribution that is used to refer to a type of spotted green glaze that is said to have been manufactured in Gonic, which is a small community near Rochester, New Hampshire. However, this is often an overused attribution, where this type of glaze is usually just a reaction that happened in the potter's kiln; whereas, this type of glaze could have happened in many different potter's kilns depending on the resources that were used to produce the pottery.

For me, personally, it is confusing to see the variety of pottery that is attributed to Gonic today; this type of glaze is found on pottery produced in places, such as Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Maine, Virginia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and elsewhere in the world. This type of spotted glaze alone is really not an attributable characteristic, but it does not mean that spotted glazes were not produced in Gonic. However, there were also a number of glazed objects manufactured in Gonic that did not exhibit any type of spotted glaze; the glazes applied in Gonic were really no different than any other small potter's business located in central or northern New England in the nineteenth century.

According to an article written in 1931 by Frank H. Norton titled, 'The Osborn Pottery in Gonic, New Hampshire,' which was published in 'The Magazine Antiques,' "About 1839 Elijah Osborn moved to Gonic, New Hampshire (from Loudon, New Hampshire) with his son, James Osborn and perhaps another son, John C. Osborn. Presumably the father at once began a pottery, and, with the help of those two sons, carried on the work. Later, James and his brother, John continued the business as partners until about 1875, when they separated. Thereafter, James, with the help of his son, William P. Osborn (see signed jug below), maintained the pottery until about 1885, when machine-made ware caused competition to become severe.

The Osborn family in Gonic made no effort to stimulate wide sales for their wares (it was a small country pottery). The only advertising attempted by the pottery was the dumping of broken scrap in the front yard to indicate to passers-by that a pottery was operating. Save for the few pieces sold on the spot, all of the red earthenware was taken in a wagon and distributed among general stores in the surrounding towns of Rochester, New Hampshire, Dover, New Hampshire, Farmington, New Hampshire, Somersworth, New Hampshire, Berwick, Maine and Barrington, New Hampshire. A medium-sized milk pan brought twenty cents; cups, ten cents; and large jars, forty or fifty cents each."

The Gonic Pottery can be compared to a number of the small potter's businesses located in southern Maine, as well as southern and central New Hampshire in the nineteenth century. The Osborns explored a number of different glazes - and, they experimented with forms, as well, which can be seen below in the variety of jugs that are attributed to Gonic by the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire.

Understandably, the Osborn Pottery in Gonic is given a lot of credit today for objects that they did not create; although, the significance of this business should not be diminished, either. Ultimately, this was a small potter's business that should not really be mistaken for an industry today. A proper attribution to the Gonic Pottery should be developed by just the form, instead of a spotted glaze, which was a glaze produced by potter's all over the world.

Note: The Osborn family name is tied to potter's businesses throughout coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The family also branched out from coastal Massachusetts into New Hampshire in the 1800s, where the Osborn name is also found in places, such as Dover, Loudon, and Boscowan. But it is because of these multiple businesses that it is also difficult to differentiate between the forms made at each business since they appear so similar today. I prefer to attribute this type of red earthenware to the "Osborns in New Hampshire."

I have also posted an old twentieth century article from 'Old Time New England,' which further discusses the importance of the Osborn name in New England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Jugs Reportedly Made at the Osborn Pottery in Gonic, NH

19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 8 7/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 7" Tall

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

19th Century Gonic, NH Red Earthenware Jug Sherd

Based Inscribed 'W.P.O.'

Likely Made by William Osborn in Gonic, NH

Circa 1860-1885

Stands 3 1/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

Based Inscribed 'W.P.O.'

Likely Made by William Osborn

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Concord, NH

Jugs Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in NH

Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire

Form is Very Similar to the First Jug Shown Above Attributed to Gonic, NH

Circa 1840-1880

Stands 9 1/8" Tall

View of the Handle

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire

Possibly Made in Gonic, NH, Boscowan, NH, Loudon, NH, Dover, NH, Etc.

Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire

Circa 1800-1860

Stands 8 7/8" Tall

View of the Handle

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to the Osborn Family in New Hampshire

Possibly Made in Gonic, NH, Boscowan, NH, Loudon, NH, Dover, NH, Etc.

Jug Retains a History of Ownership in New Hampshire

Jug is Marked on the Front with an Incised 'X'

Circa 1800-1860

Stands 7 7/8" Tall

View of the Incised 'X'

View of the Handle

'The Osborns and Their Redware'

'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 49

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 50

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 51

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 52

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 53

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 54

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 55

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 56

 'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 57

'The Osborns and Their Redware' Article 

20th Century Article Published in 'Old Time New England'

Page 58

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

A Rare Signed Object that was Made in West Sterling, Massachusetts

According to the book, 'Fireworks: New England Art Pottery of the Arts and Crafts Movement,' "William J. Walley was born in Ohio in 1852. When his father died, the family moved to England where, at the age of ten, Walley began working at the Minton Ceramics Factory. After eleven-years of grueling work, from 1862-1863, he was well-trained in all aspects of working a pottery. 

At twenty-one years of age, Walley returned to the United States and worked for a pottery in Maine. After a short stay he moved down to Worcester, Massachusetts, to work at the F.B. Norton Pottery Company, which began in 1858. The Norton Company was famous for its stoneware salt-glazed jugs. They also produced some stoneware items in natural forms such as umbrella stands in the forms of tree trunks. It is believed Walley influenced the creation of these objects. Walley was dissatisfied for financial reasons and had to leave the company.

Walley then purchased an old pottery (before 1890) that was formerly the Wachusett Pottery in West Sterling, Massachusetts. He unearthed his own red clay from a hillside behind the pottery then designed, modeled, fired, and sold his pottery by himself. 

Walley exhibited his pottery at the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts in 1907 and was given the title of Master Craftsman between 1908 and 1918.

Walley's ambitions and talents were not utilized solely for the purpose of a successful pottery operation. In 1913, he taught pottery making to patients at Worcester State Hospital in a craft program titled 'Industrial Therapeutics.' This form of therapy was created by the founder of the Marblehead (Massachusetts) Pottery, Dr. Herberet J. Hall.

Walley's pottery was the clear embodiment of the Arts and Crafts spirit. His glazes reflected the beauty of the fall leaves around his studio in Sterling, Massachusetts. His most intriguing works incorporated small elf-like figures sitting on handles or incorporated into the body of the vessel. Since Walley was a one-man operation, his works are relatively scarce, especially outside the New England area. Walley was certainly familiar with the work of Hugh Robertson (Chelsea, Mass. Keramic Arts Works & Dedham, Mass. Pottery) and seemed to be able to master any glaze or form. He may have been inspired by the forms published in Keramic Studio or other potteries that exhibited at the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts. This could explain some of the architectural forms that had little to do with his natural surroundings. Walley's fine glazes on classical forms represent some of the finest works of the art pottery movement in America. William J. Walley's career ended upon his death in December 1917."

This is a rare example of William J. Walley's signed work from West Sterling, Massachusetts, which may represent a transition piece from the manufacture of utilitarian pottery to the production of wares that were intended for decoration and flowers. Interestingly, the base is hand inscribed with Walley's initials, 'W.J.W.'

A number of Walley's decorative products from the early-twentieth-century are stamped with Walley's mark, 'W.J.W.,' however, I have never before seen a product that he actually hand-inscribed. This is why I suggest that this may be an early piece from when Walley first acquired the West Sterling pottery.

All of the exterior decoration was hand-modeled; this object is actually one of the most detailed products that I have seen from Walley. The combination of the glaze colors mixed with the hand-applied leaves is quite attractive.

Note: Marked red earthenware from the nineteenth-century central Massachusetts potter's industry is quite rare today; although, here are a few articles, where I show some marked products, which are known today from this somewhat overlooked potter's industry.

1) Abner S. Wight - West Sterling, Mass.

2) East Brookfield, Mass.

3) East Brookfield, Mass. Part 2

Rare Signed Object from West Sterling, Mass.

19th Century Red Earthenware Bowl 

Made by William J. Walley in West Sterling, Mass.

The Base is Hand-Inscribed with Walley's Initials

Circa 1880's to 1890's

Stands 3 1/8" Tall

Measures 8 5/8" in Diameter

View of the Exterior Decoration

Another View of the Exterior Decoration

Another View of the Exterior Decoration

Another View of the Exterior Decoration, as-well-as a View of the Base

View of the Base

View of the Inscription, 'W.J.W.'

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

A Comparison of Two Large Red Earthenware Pots with Similar Characteristics

Last night, I mentioned that I had found a large nineteenth-century double-handled red earthenware pot in a vintage shop in central New Hampshire. I had written that the unusual glaze pattern can be seen on similar glazed products that were made Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. However, I felt the pot that I found was likely made in Maine, as-a-result of the form of the rim and the collar that wrapped around the neck.

For a comparison: I have also shown a large late-eighteenth-century pot with a similar glaze style, which is attributed to the Thomas Bugbee, Jr. (1761-1843) Pottery in South Woodstock, Connecticut, circa 1795. This jar retains a very-old note that reads, "Probably made in / Woodstock, CT by / Bugbee." The jar was also found in Connecticut.

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins wrote in 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' "Thomas Bugbee, Jr. (1761-1843 - brother of David Bugbee) founded a well-known pottery in South Woodstock, Connecticut in 1793. Bugbee, who was then thirty-three years old, was apparently untrained in the potter's art, for he employed a 'foreign' artisan to oversee the various processes of preparing the clay and glazing wares. The word 'foreign' does not necessarily mean his master workman came from across the sea, but perhaps only from Massachusetts or a distant part of Connecticut; in those days of limited travel, all outside towns were foreign. So we would not expect Bugbee's output to differ in any respect from the wares made elsewhere in New England. It is said that he produced large quantities of pottery. In six firings during the summer, he burned some five thousand pieces. Of these, two thousand were milk pans. They were (reportedly) distributed by cart to stores in all the neighboring settlements of Windham County (Connecticut). The pottery continued until 1843, when its owner died."

Large Connecticut Jar

Late-18th Century Double-Handled Red Earthenware Pot

Attributed to the Thomas Bugbeen, Jr. Pottery - South Woodstock, CT

Circa 1795

Stands 13 3/4" Tall

 My 4-Year-Old Niece, Alexis Pictured with the Large Jar

Notice the Size of the Jar

 View of One Handle

 View of the Other Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base 

Large Northern New England Jar

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Likely Made in New Hampshire or Maine

I Feel it was Most-Likely Made in Maine

Recently Found in Central New Hampshire

Circa 1820-1890

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Measures 13 1/8" in Length from Handle-to-Handle

 View of One Handle

  View of the Other Handle

  View of the Interior

View of the Base

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

A Huge 19th Century Northern New England Red Earthenware Pot that was Recently Found in Central New Hampshire

This is a huge double-handled nineteenth-century red earthenware pot, which I recently found in central New Hampshire. I was told by the picker that they recently found it in Maine. The form seemed unusual; although, I have seen this style of exterior glaze before from eighteenth and nineteenth-century potters in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine.

Personally, I feel this pot was likely made in New Hampshire or Maine, and I am leaning towards Maine, as-a-result of the rim and the neck collar.

The form suggests this object could have been used as a bean pot; however, the lack of a blackened base suggests otherwise. The white residue that lines the interior of this pot actually suggests that it was probably used for some type of food storage in the 1800's. A similar residue is often seen on nineteenth-century red earthenware flower pots.

 Huge 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Likely Made in New Hampshire or Maine

I Feel it was Most-Likely Made in Maine

Recently Found in Central New Hampshire

Circa 1820-1890

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Measures 13 1/8" in Length from Handle-to-Handle

View of One Handle

 View of the Other Handle

Another View of the Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

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