My niece, Alexis and myself found ourselves in a similar situation yesterday when we were driving through the old Osborn neighborhood in Peabody, Massachusetts. This was an urban city neighborhood that used to be occupied by the Osborn family in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries; there used to be multiple kilns located in this neighborhood, which were operated by multiple generations of Osborn family potters. The Osborn Pottery employed dozens of Osborn family members, but this business is also responsible for training and employing dozens of other potters, as well. Ultimately, this was a very-important potter's industry in New England.
This is the same Osborn family that I have recently written about, which was located in Gonic, New Hamsphire, Loudon, New Hampshire, Boscowan, New Hampshire, Exeter, New Hampshire, Dover, New Hampshire, etc. in the 1800's. However, the Osborn family in Peabody also had direct ties to the potter's industry in southeastern Massachusetts and the Upton Pottery in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. I have also recently written about the red earthenware produced at these locations, as well.
According to Lura Woodside Watkins, "The Osborns exerted an influence on New England potting that is amazing when considered in relation to the industry as a whole. From the parent tree in South Danvers (today known as Peabody) the branches extended throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island, and even into New York State, spreading the old traditions and techniques to the frontier.
The fact that the Osborns were Quakers, and therefore not permitted to marry outside of their own sect, may account for the large number of the family, so closely related, who remained in the same trade for generations. More than thirty of the name, most of them Joseph Osborn's descendants (Joseph Osborn established the business circa 1736-1739), were potters in Peabody.
The Osborn family eventually sold the family business to Joseph Reed in 1866, who later sold the business to Moses Paige in 1876. The Paige Pottery changed hands in the late-1930's, when two Italians, Ermano and Luigi Paolucci bought the pottery, but they were not able to compete with machine made wares. The Paulucci Pottery closed in the 1940's."
Most of the property that was originally owned by the Osborns was acquired by a senior citizen community center in the mid-twentieth-century. Unfortunately, this property was heavily developed, and it was further developed in the early-1990's. I do not know of any sherds related to the Osborns, which were salvaged during either phase of construction in the 1950's or 1990's. But the Peabody Historical Society does own sherds that are related to the Paige Pottery, circa 1876-1930's.
Nevertheless, when my niece and myself drove through this part of Peabody yesterday, we found that a small patch of land, which had never been developed was under construction. We immediately stopped. We were told by a Peabody Police officer at the site that the senior citizen community center was adding about thirty parking spaces to the existing parking lot. They had dug down about two-to-three feet about one-half the size of a football field. They told us that they had finished excavating the property.
The Peabody Police officer gave us permission to take any surface artifacts, but he also made us promise that we would be careful around the construction. We did not dig for anything, but we took everything that we could see laying on the surface level.
I also need to add that this is private property in an urban section of Peabody. I would not advise going to this site without the permission of the Peabody Police Department and the senior citizen community center. The site should also be by paved over by next week and all of the artifacts below it will still be preserved.
What We Found
We discovered a lot! We discovered hundreds of artifacts. We found kiln furniture, kiln bricks, wasters and sherds. I believe all of these objects are related to the Osborn Pottery instead of the businesses that operated afterwards. Collectively, I would say that these artifacts date from the circa 1740-1860 period.
I was amazed at some of the evidence that we were able to gather, which has never been tied to the Osborns before:
1) The abundance of thickly potted black-glazed wares: There were a number of thickly potted black-glazed utilitarian sherds with walls that were over one-inch thick, which appeared very-similar to black-glazed pottery that was produced in Buckley, England in the eighteenth-century. Were the Osborns trying to imitate the Buckley wares that were imported into places like Boston and Salem, Massachusetts in the 1700's? Are products in New England made by the Osborns mistaken for wares made in Buckley today?
2) Slip Decoration: It has been published in the past that the potter's in Essex County, Massachusetts did not utilize a lot of slip-decoration in the eighteenth-century. However, I have found evidence that suggests otherwise. I think it is more a matter of tying slip-techniques to Essex County today that have been left unattributed or even attributed elsewhere in the past. I do not believe the Osborns have ever previously been linked to slip-decoration; although, we found accurate evidence of it yesterday.
3) Glazed Base: It has been published in the past that utilitarian red earthenware potters did not glaze bases in New England; however, I have recently proven that they did occasionally glaze bases in North Yarmouth, Maine. North Yarmouth was also a potter's industry that was directly tied to Essex County. Yesterday, we found evidence of a black-glazed jug that was intentionally entirely glazed on the base by the Osborns. I have seen similar black-glazed bases in North Yarmouth.
4) A Fluid Glaze: We found evidence yesterday of a fluid glaze that was applied at the Osborn Pottery in Peabody. I have not seen this type of glaze previously associated with utilitarian potters in Essex County.
5) Glazes: We found an abundance of glazes yesterday that would not traditionally be tied to Essex County, Massachusetts today; although, Lura Woodside Watkins also confirms these type of Peabody (or South Danvers) glazes in 'Early England Potters and Their Wares.' We Found glazes that would normally be tied to Pennsylvania or elsewhere in New England (i.e. New Hampshire, Maine, etc.).
Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Massachusettts
My Niece at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
We Had Permission from the Peabody Police Department to Investigate this Site
The Site was Disturbed about 2-3 Feet Down and About theHalf the Size of a Football Field
We Were Given Permission to Collect Any Surface Artifacts
We Did Not Dig at this Site
My Niece at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
The Sun is Shining Directly in Her Eyes
My Niece at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
She is Collecting Artifacts as They Pertain to the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
The Osborn Pottery Operated Circa 1740-1860
My Niece at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
She is Collecting Artifacts as They Pertain to the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
The Osborn Pottery Operated Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Kiln Furniture & Kiln Brick
Kiln Furniture Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Kiln Brick Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass
Circa 1740-1860
Kiln Furniture Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Kiln Furniture Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Kiln Furniture Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Black-Glazed Sherds
These Sherds Appear Like they Were Trying to Imitate Black-Glazed Pottery from Buckley, England
All of these Sherds are from Thickly Potted Utilitarian Products
I Believe These Could be 18th Century in Origin
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1820
Osborn Pottery Slip-Decorated Sherds
It Has Been Published in the Past that Very-Little Slip-Decoration was Used in Essex County, Mass.
I Truly Believe that this Statement is Misleading
The Use of Slip-Decoration in Essex County, Mass. Needs to be Re-Examined
I Have Found Strong Evidence of Slip-Decoration in Essex County, Mass.
These Were Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1820
Osborn Pottery Footed Base
This Large Rounded Type of Foot is Commonly Attributed to Essex County, Mass. Today
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Incised Line
View of a Singled Incised Line Found on a Sherd from a Jug
This was a Typical-Type of Decoration Found on Jugs Made in Essex County, Mass.
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Glazed Base
Interior Base of a Jug Found at the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Incredibly, the Exterior Base has Been Intentionally Glazed
It has Been Published that Potters Did Not Glaze Bases in New England
However, I Have Found this Statement to be False
They Also Glazed Bases in North Yarmouth, ME
The Potter's Industry in North Yarmouth, ME Had Direct Ties to Essex County, Mass.
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Sherd with a Fluid Glaze
Very Unusual Fluid Glaze Not Commonly Attributed to Essex County, Mass.
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Very Unusual Fluid Glaze Not Commonly Attributed to Essex County, Mass.
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Osborn Pottery Handle
Handle Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Various Osborn Pottery Glazes
This is a Typical Type of Essex County, Mass. Glaze
A Matching Glaze was also Produced in Newburyport, Mass. in the 18th Century
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
This Type of Glaze Would Not Normally be Associated with Essex County, Mass. Today
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
This Type of Glaze Would Typically be Attributed to Pennsylvania Today
Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Circa 1740-1860
Various Glazes Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Some of these Glazes Would be Attributed to Maine or Northern New England Today
Circa 1740-1860
Various Glazes Found at the Site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody, Mass.
Some of these Glazes Would be Attributed to Maine or Northern New England Today
Circa 1740-1860
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
