Charlestown: New England's Potter's Industry, Circa 1635-1775

The Drinker Pottery

Charlestown, Massachusetts is likely best known today for its stoneware industry from the late eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. Jonathan Fenton, Frederick Carpenter and Barnabas Edmunds are the names most-often associated with the known Charlestown pottery industry today. However, there were a number of names, who until Boston's Big Dig Central Artery Project took place in the 1980s, were lost in time. A team of archaeologists spent months excavating the construction area along Charlestown’s waterfront before the multi-billion dollar project broke ground. Their findings were extensive. The uncovered industry is arguably the most important archaeological findings from the seventeenth and eighteenth-century colonial New England potter's industry today.

The red earthenware industry in Charlestown was really first established in the seventeenth-century when Phillip Drinker and his family arrived in 1635 from Exeter, England. Drinker was reportedly a working-class potter in his home country. He brought his craft to Charlestown and began work soon after his arrival. Drinker is regarded as the first official potter working in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is also certainly one of the first pioneering American potters. Phillip also taught his son, Edward Drinker the potter's trade before 1647. Presumably, the bricks that were used to the build the initial kiln may have come from England or a local brick manufacturer.

Next door to Drinker, lived John Smith and his family, who were also immigrants from England. The Smiths made a living working as shipwrights on Charlestown’s waterfront. The Smith family site is among the archaeological collections, which are kept at Boston's Archaeology Department in West Roxbury, Massachusetts today.

A domestic form of seventeenth-century red earthenware kiln bricks and kiln wasters were found at the Smith Site; however, most of the kiln waste was labeled as 'limestone'. Drinker’s kiln is believed to have been located next door to the Smiths, where I believe that this waste can be tied to the Drinker family. This type of proof has never been seen from the Drinker Pottery before - their production has only previously been found in books.

The following examples of kiln waste were recovered in a circa 1681-1707 archaeological context from the Smith Site. It was used as fill when a foundation was covered on the Smith property in the late 1600's. The debris that was used to fill the foundation was likely taken from the remote area. There was a lot of kiln waste found within this context. The only real explanation that I have been able to determine for this waste in this context is that it came from the Drinker Pottery.

17h Century Kiln Waste Recovered on the Smith Site in Charlestown, Mass.

Probably Related to the Drinker Pottery

Recovered in a Circa 1681-1707 Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

 17h Century Kiln Waste Recovered on the Smith Site in Charlestown, Mass.

Probably Related to the Drinker Pottery

Recovered in a Circa 1681-1707 Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

17h Century Kiln Waste Recovered on the Smith Site in Charlestown, Mass.

Probably Related to the Drinker Pottery

Recovered in a Circa 1681-1707 Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

By 1647, Phillip Drinker had passed away, but he had laid a basic foundation for an industry that would eventually become a major manufacturer of red earthenware in Charlestown in the eighteenth-century.

Charlestown's Potter's Industry

Edward Drinker is thought to have trained Samuel Kettle, who apprenticed and also operated a business in Charlestown. But the Kettle family also helped establish the industry in Essex County, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth-centuries. The Kettles are believed to be among the first utilitarian potters working within the Salem, Massachusetts area. They also produced a few unusual styles of slip-decoration, which are comparable to some of the slip that was produced in Charlestown in the eighteenth-century.

An area known as 'Town Dock' in Charlestown began to expand in the early eighteenth-century. The dock was strategically located along the town’s waterfront, which was not too far from the City Square neighborhood. City Square was where many of the local shops and taverns were located.

City Square was also surrounded by three important archaeological sites; Water Street, Wapping Street and Maudlin Street. These three streets do not exist today, but at one time they surrounded the City Square area. A number of examples of domestic red earthenware were found at these sites in seventeenth and eighteenth-century archaeological contexts. All of this domestic red earthenware is believed to have been produced in Charlestown.

The archaeologist also discovered five self-contained privies on the original property of the Three Cranes Tavern in City Square, which was originally built as the Great House for Governor John Winthrop in the 1630's; one of the privies dated from the seventeenth-century, whereas, the remaining four were built in the eighteenth-century. 

Incredibly, a number of red earthenware sherds were found in the seventeenth-century privy that were likely produced by either the Drinker or Kettle families. Red earthenware roof tiles were also discovered in this privy, which is a product that has also been tied to seventeenth-century Essex County. It is possible that the Kettles are responsible for all of the roof tiles in both locations.

But as Town Dock expanded, so did the area’s production of pottery - the names Collier, Edes, Frothingham, Larkin, Lord, Penny, Wade and Webber are all mentioned within Charlestown’s eighteenth-century red earthenware industry. The most prominent names were Bodge, Edes, Harris, Manning, Newhall, Parker, Penny, Powers, Runey, Stanley and Symmes. In all, there were at least forty names associated with Charlestown’s red earthenware industry; however, that number is likely greater since not every red earthenware potter is known from Charlestown today.

The Parker family was likely the most prominent of the potters in Charlestown; Isaac and Grace Parker established the family business, circa 1714. No kiln was recovered, but there are a number of kiln bricks, wasters and kiln furniture found within the Parker Pottery Archaeology Collection. The site of the Parker kiln is also believed to have moved to a few locations on the Parker property. The family also owned an actual retail business in City Square, which is where they are thought to have sold pottery. However, Parker Pottery has also been recovered at archaeology sites in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Maine and Canada.

18th Century Kiln Bricks Recovered at the Site of the Parker Pottery in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

Archaeological evidence from Faneuil Hall has also revealed that a lot of Charlestown red earthenware was exported to Boston. This was likely Charlestown's major market for red earthenware distribution.

The Parker family lived in an urban seventeenth-century home near Charlestown’s waterfront. The family is described as well-off, harvesting prosperous seasonal gardens, owning a wharf and owning a nice home with tasteful furnishings. The wharf may have served as an export business for their company. However, the family pottery was immediately impacted when Isaac unexpectedly died in the early 1740's.

Prior to Isaac’s death, he had reportedly contacted Philadelphia, Pennsylvania potter, James Duché with hopes that he would move to Charlestown and help produce stoneware. The idea was to compete against imported stoneware from Europe and possibly American potters, as well. 

In 1741, Isaac approached Charlestown’s General Court, where he was awarded proper funding to begin a stoneware business. Sadly, a few weeks later, he unexpectedly died at the age of 50.

Isaac’s widow, Grace Parker picked up where her husband had left off; although, it is not clear today whether she was actually a potter or a proprietor. But she did enter into a partnership to produce stoneware with Duché and a Boston potter named Thomas Symmes. Her son, John Parker, a potter was also involved with the family business. However, it should be noted that John Parker worked at a number of the red earthenware shops in Charlestown outside of just the Parker Pottery. There is evidence of John Parker's employment at various businesses in his potter's daybook, which is owned by the Baker Library at Harvard University today.

18th Century Slip-Decorated Chamber Pot

Likely Made at the Parker Pottery in Charlestown, MA

This Chamber Pot was Recovered from an 18th Century Privy at the Three Cranes Tavern

Circa 1740

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

The Parker Pottery's stoneware success is not really understood today. It is believed that the pottery had difficulty building a proper kiln, but they also had trouble actually producing stoneware, as well. It is thought that they may have fired a successful kiln in 1745 when Thomas Symmes advertised "forty different blue and white stoneware forms near the Swing Bridge in Charlestown."

Note: I have shown some of the odd stoneware sherds (and kiln waste) recovered in various contexts in Charlestown. Unfortunately, it is not known if these artifacts are related to the Parker Pottery, a European import or another American potter.

Parker Pottery Advertisement from 1745

They Advertised 40 Different Stoneware Forms

Photo Courtesy: Boston Public Library

 18th Century Stoneware Recovered in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

 18th Century Stoneware Kiln Waste Recovered in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

 18th Century Stoneware Recovered in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

 18th Century Stoneware Recovered in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

18th Century Stoneware Recovered in Charlestown, MA

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

The Parker business continued to produce red earthenware until 1758, when another potter, John Harris purchased the company.

Elsewhere in town, James Ingalls began his own red earthenware company around the time of Isaac Parker’s death. Ingall’s venture did not prove very successful - and, by 1744, he was out of business. John Harris bought Ingall’s company at a public sale in 1746 held at the Three Cranes Tavern. Harris operated both Ingalls’ company and the old Parker pottery simultaneously until 1767, when he sold the old Harris pottery to business partners, Jonathan Penny and Thomas Manning. Penny and Manning began a joint venture, where they operated their own red earthenware business for years to come.

Additionally, Samuel Bodge and his son, Samuel Bodge, Jr, were also active red earthenware potters nearby with their own business. Battery Powers was even producing red earthenware near the Town Dock.

If you can imagine, a birds-eye view of what must have been one of colonial America’s most-active red earthenware industries all self-contained within a small coastal town located just north of Boston. Dozens of skilled potters worked producing red earthenware, but only one shop is known to have made any manufacturing attempt at stoneware. Charlestown has previously been regarded as just a stoneware industry, but before that stoneware industry was created by Carpenter, Fenton and Edmunds – it was pioneered by more than forty red earthenware potters.

The Tufts family was a prominent family of colonial brick-makers, who produced bricks using clay from the Mystic River – this was the same clay that was used by many of the local red earthenware potters. It has to be assumed today that many of the bricks, which were manufactured by the Tufts family were used for the taverns, homes and potter's kilns in eighteenth-century Charlestown. This is also the same Tufts family that Tufts University is named after today in Medford, Massachusetts.

The red earthenware forms produced in Charlestown included chamber pots, cups, dishes, pots, crocks, jugs, mugs, pans, plates and porringers. Glaze colors range from basic browns and black to vibrant greens, yellows, oranges, creams and reds. Peach colored halos from impurities in the clay are also sometimes found, as well as objects decorated with a dark brown or black freckled body. In some instances, the colors were used in combination on a single form. A lot of slip-decoration was produced, as well.

By 1770, Jonathan Penny and Thomas Manning were still producing red earthenware at the old James Ingalls Site. Battery Powers was among a number of potters actively producing pottery near Town Dock - and, the Bodge family pottery was in full operation in Charlestown. However, the Intolerable Acts and mounting turmoil between the colonists and English troops were about to conflict, and Charlestown’s red earthenware industry would ultimately be sacrificed for the independence of a brand new nation.

18th Centruy Charlestown, MA Slip-Decorated Chamber Pot 

Recovered from an 18h Century Privy at the Three Cranes Tavern in Charlestown, MA

Found in a Circa 1770 Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

Impact of the American Revolution

The Intolerable Acts was a response to the Boston Tea Party; the four acts that were issued were punitive measures put in place by England, which they had hoped would put an end to all colonial uprising. British Parliament used the Massachusetts Bay Colony as an example for the remainder of the American colonies. The Boston Port Act of 1774 may have done the most harm.

The Boston Port Act shut down all trade to Boston Harbor, where only the absolute necessities were aloud in and out of port. With this parliamentary decision, any of Charlestown’s red earthenware exports would have likely been canceled unless those orders were fulfilled over land. This act probably shut down all sales to Boston, as well.

The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 destroyed Charlestown's potter's industry. The American Revolution was underway and homes, taverns and potters kilns/businesses were burned to the ground. This marked an end of an era for New England red earthenware production. A few of Charlestown's red earthenware potters did rebuild after the American Revolution – but most traveled north, south and west in search of work. Charlestown's industry was gone. There was some red earthenware production in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries, but it was nothing like what had once existed prior to the American Revolution.

In the 1790s, the stoneware industry that is well known today was established when Jonathan Fenton and Frederick Carpenter joined into a partnership - Barnabus Edmunds followed with his business in the nineteenth-century. I have always wondered how much information the Charlestown's stoneware potters knew about the red earthenware industry that came before them. But I also wonder how much Charlestown red earthenware was produced after the American Revolution that is misinterpreted for another location today.

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

Thomas Nickerson's Pottery in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Circa 1897-1908

The Arts and Crafts movement was a period of reform and transformation in American culture. Many forms of utilitarian craftsmanship were affected by this change at the end of the nineteenth century, which continued into the twentieth century. The whole idea and purpose of the American utilitarian red earthenware potter had been nearly eliminated by more durable products like stoneware - and, the Industrial Revolution, which changed the American economy and American workforce forever. Most country red earthenware potters were replaced by factory-type atmospheres during the Industrial Era. The utilitarian red earthenware potter’s industry had altered its appearance. It was largely replaced by what potters were able to create for profit as the twentieth century drew near. Art pottery is ultimately what the potter’s industry transformed into when many forms of utilitarian earthenware had been replaced by other objects. It was a huge metamorphosis that happened while the potter’s industry fought to find its latest identity.

Merrimac Pottery Company Umbrella Stand

Umbrella Stand Made at the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, MA

Circa 1902-1908

Stands Approximately 2' Tall

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

The Merrimac Ceramic Company (1897-1901)

Thomas Nickerson established the 'Merrimac Ceramic Company' in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1897. Nickerson was an English-trained potter, who had moved south from Portland, Maine. The pottery was given its name after the Merrimack River, which flowed along the city to the north. The business was founded just to the west of where the Newburyport Fire Department is located today. A condominium development (see archaeology information below) now resides in place of where the earthenware business once was located.

The Merrimac Ceramic Company was a unique business when compared to many similar businesses during the period. Nickerson focused on terra-cotta flower pots, garden products, floral wares and other utilitarian necessities; although, his business model was also different when compared to similar Massachusetts companies from the same period.

Major companies just to the south in Chelsea, Massachusetts (Low Art Tile Works), Dedham, Massachusetts (Dedham Pottery) and South Boston, Massachusetts (William Grueby Pottery) operated with different business approaches than did Nickerson. The products of the Merrimac Ceramic Company usually took the forms of vases, garden urns and flower pots; whereas, the company's counterparts focused more towards art pottery, architectural elements, and products intended for decoration and formal dining. Nickerson’s company was really a shadow of how the New England utilitarian potter's industry had appeared years before.

Initially,  Nickerson was not exclusively an art potter; instead, he did what many utilitarian potters would have done to stay in business - he made utilitarian products that would sell – and, it just so happens that the utilitarian demand evolved into a need for garden products and floral wares in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries.

Nickerson’s products in the first four years were sometimes marked with a paper label that read, "Merrimac Ceramic Company" with a picture of a sturgeon; however the earliest examples were rarely marked. The sturgeon is a fish native to the Merrimack River. The products were typical utilitarian garden products, such as terra-cotta flower pots, glazed red earthenware vases and related objects that could be used around the household and in the garden. These first few years laid a foundation for Nickerson’s company, which would see a major transformation in 1902 – and, Nickerson’s remarkable talents for form, glaze and proportion would soon become apparent.

The Merrimac Pottery Company (1902-1908)

In 1902, Thomas Nickerson changed the name and focus of his company to a more formal approach that drifted away from the traditional beliefs of utilitarian potters. The company became known as the 'Merrimac Pottery Company.' Rather than a paper label, an impressed mark was used on the base of products that read, 'MERRIMAC' with an image of a sturgeon. The company made colorful art pottery, exquisite garden pottery and reproduction Roman pottery. This new direction allowed Nickerson to demonstrate his true skill as a potter. The art glazes were often breath-taking with a variety of vibrant colors that adorned accomplished forms.

Although, only one-year later, William Grueby’s company in South Boston claimed Nickerson was copying a green glaze that the Grueby Pottery had been using since the 1890s; however the Grueby Potter was unsuccessful in proving its lawsuit. The Newburyport Daily News published these comments in defense of the Merrimac Pottery Company:

“That accusation is not borne out by a careful study and comparison of both wares. Save in the color of certain green pieces, the resemblance is very little; and really the greens of Merrimac, so far as one writer has observed, are not at all comparable to Grueby, with its soft, glove-like surface and finish. The Merrimac has, however, so much to offer in scope of variety (and this cannot be said of Grueby) that very interesting and charming products come up for consideration quite independent of the green specimens. Many of the Merrimac pieces show a cheerful, tender, bright, radiant character, which is wholly lacking in the Grueby. The soft color of the Merrimac is especially pleasing and the metallic glow on some of the articles is most effective, rich and brilliant. This metallic finish is the finer and more acceptable, as seen upon the low-tone pieces, such as on the soft, dull violet, rose and similar colors.”

The more exquisite garden pottery made by Nickerson was some of the most impressive red earthenware known to have been manufactured by any American art potter. Many of the forms were intended to hold small trees and shrubs. These forms were reportedly shipped all over the country in the early twentieth-century.

Nickerson drew inspiration from old Japanese and ancient Greeks forms – among other styles that he incorporated into his line of garden products. The forms were often monumental and embellished with extravagant features. The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts owns a rare Merrimac Pottery Company catalog, which was published in 1905 that was only intended to showcase these specific products. The products were not cheap, either – they ranged from $5 to $50 depending on the size and form.

According to the 1905 catalog, “THE MERRIMAC POTTERY COMPANY made a large number of GARDEN POTS during the past season, which met with the approval of architects and their clients, and are in use on many large estates in this country. Since the last catalogue was issued, several new shapes have been added to the forms carried and the lines of the old ones have been improved. The present catalogue shows most of these new forms and illustrates the adaptability of the pots to various positions in formal and wild gardens, on porches, verandas and terraces. These pots are made in red and white terra cotta and being slightly porous afford proper drainage for the trees and shrubs. Prices include packing and delivery to express or freight. All charges for transportation to be paid by the purchaser. Estimates on special shapes (custom orders) will be promptly submitted.”

Rare Merrimac Pottery Company Catalog

1905 Catalog from the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, MA

The Catalog Showcases the Company's Garden Wares

Photo Courtesy: Phillips Library - Peabody, MA

The Historic Society of Old Newbury in Newburyport owns an incredible example of garden statuary hand-made by Nickerson. It is arguably one the most impressive forms of domestic red earthenware known to exist today. The garden urn features an acorn finial, tassel and swag decorations, a separate base, additional fine decoration and a horned bearded man – which is possibly the Greek figure – Achelous, who was the patron of the deity of the Achelous River in ancient western Greece.

Merrimac Pottery Company Garden Urn

 Early 20th Century Red Earthenware Garden Urn

Made at the Merrimac Pottery Company - Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1902-1908

Stands Approximately 2' to 3' Tall

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

 View of One of the Figures
This is Possibly an Image of the Greek Figure, Achelous

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

View of the Acorn Finial

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

Nickerson appears to have been passionate towards the revival of ancient Greek pottery, which was originally an inspiration of Charles A. Lawrence's production in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1872. Hugh Robertson in Chelsea, Massachusetts and John Farmer Clark in Concord, New Hampshire also produced this type of pottery in the 1870s.

Nickerson traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he made actual reproductions from Roman molds that the museum had acquired in 1895. The molds were reportedly 2,000-years-old and featured figures in relief. Both earthenware and red earthenware products were made from these ancient forms, which revealed Nickerson used both red and white clay bodies. Very few of these forms are known to exist today. The Historic Society of Old Newbury owns a lid from one of these forms that is prominently marked, 'MERRIMAC' across the top.

Note: Here is a short YouTube video that shows two of these rare products.

Merrimac Pottery Company Grecian-Style Lid

Early 20th Century Roman Style Red Earthenware Lid

Made at the Merrimac Pottery Company - Newburyport, MA

The Lid is Marked 'MERRIMAC'

This was Inspired after a Roman Object that is Owned by the MFA in Boston

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

Collectors have always admired the art pottery made by Nickerson in Newburyport, but there was so much more to this company than just brightly glazed pottery. Nickerson’s business featured an indoor kiln and even a room specifically designated for glazes. Sadly, the business caught fire in 1908 and burned to the ground, whereas, afterwards, Nickerson never rebuilt.

A Collection of Sherds

The curator of the Historic Society of Old Newbury, Jay Williamson and past vice president, Chris Snow visited the site of the Merrimac Pottery Company in 1999, as demolition was underway for a condominium village. They salvaged a number of sherds, wasters and kiln furniture still in their original context.

It was surprising to see a large amount of earthenware products that displayed both white and red bodies. But it was also surprising to see a large number of sherds, which were glazed like simple utilitarian red earthenware crocks and pots that would have been made by American red earthenware potters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; although, I assume these sherds were probably the remains of garden products. 

Jay Williamson and Chris Snow also found a small collection of sherds stamped with the 'Merrimac' mark that Nickerson had used after 1902. It must be assumed that some of these sherds were from the Merrimac Ceramic Company, but the only evidence to go by was the sherds that were stamped with the post 1902 mark.

Nevertheless, the collection of sherds really does reflect Nickerson's initial background as a utilitarian potter. However, he adapted to the demand of the art potter's industry at the end of the nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century. If Nickerson had been employed decades before, he would have probably been involved with utilitarian crocks, pitchers and jugs like most red earthenware potters before the Industrial Revolution. Many of these potters were replaced by industrial molded wares that were cheaper for the consumer, which also quickly changed the face of the utilitarian potter’s industry forever. Nickerson happened to have been a potter, who chose to adapt with modern technology, where he chose a different path excelling at a type production that the market demanded.

Merrimac Pottery Company Archaeology

Wasters from Thomas Nickerson's Pottery in Newburyport, MA

 Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

Wasters Marked 'MERRIMAC' from Thomas Nickerson's Pottery in Newburyport, MA

Photo Courtesy: Historic Society of Old Newbury - Newburyport, MA

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

A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Found on Valentine's Day in Salem, Massachusetts in 2014

For some reason, I have had good luck in recent years when searching for pottery on Valentine's Day in Essex County, Massachusetts. My all-time favorite Valentine's Day discovery is a wonderful four-handled pot from the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery (circa 1866-1906) in Beverly, Massachusetts - this pot is decorated with a hand-applied pie-crust decoration just below the rim and a number of stamped Roman Crosses, which were applied all over the pot's exterior, as-well-as at the top and base of each handle terminal.

Previously, I have written about Lawrence's fascination with reproducing actual ancient Roman Pottery that began in the early-1870's - according to a book published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, 'In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement,' "Facsimiles of Greek terra-cotta vessels were some of the earliest artistic ceramics produced in America. The first known reference to an 'artware line' appeared in 1872, when the 'Beverly Pottery at the request of Boston ladies began to copy beautiful forms of ancient vases to order.' Charles A. Lawrence, the superintendent of that Massachusetts factory, intentionally limited his production of imitation Greek pottery, for he feared that if it became common it would depreciate in value. He therefore sold it only in small lots to his 'artistic' friends for their own private collections."

It was three-years ago today that I found the pot that I just described inside a small shop in Salem, Massachusetts - the shop's owner told me that the pot's consignor was actually trying to sell a bunch of silk orchids that they had placed in the pot for Valentine's Day. However, I was only interested in the pot; although, I still own the orchids today.

The owner told me that the pot was recently found in an early house in Beverly. I also found it intriguing to see where small traces of a clear lead glaze had accidentally spilled onto the exterior. A matching glaze is found on a similar (formed) stamped pot, which is owned by the Beverly Historical Society.

The Beverly Historical Society's pot is an important object that Charles A. Lawrence personally made as a presentation piece for John I. Baker, who was Beverly's first mayor in 1895. Lawrence first incised three lines onto this object so that his stamped inscription would be level with rest of the pot: Lawrence stamped, "PRESENTED TO THE / FIRST MAYOR OF BEVERLY / FROM THE BEVERLY POTTERY / JAN 1895,.'

The exterior and interior of the pot has been left unglazed, which is similar to the pot that I found in Salem on Valentine's Day in 2014. However, Lawrence glazed each letter on the pot that the Beverly Historical Society owns - the glaze likely preserved the stamps, but it also makes each letter easier to read.

Note: I have also posted a circa 1890 photograph of the C.A. Lawrence Pottery on the Bass River in Beverly, Massachusetts, along with two images taken from an 1880 map of Beverly, which also show the C.A. Lawrence Pottery.

Circa 1890 Photograph of C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

Charles A. Lawrence Pottery Building in Beverly, Massachusetts

Circa 1890

Photo Courtesy: Beverly, Mass. Historical Society

1880 Map of Beverly, Massachusetts

1880 Map of Beverly, Massachusetts

Link to Map on Historic Map Works Website

Photo Courtesy: Historic Map Works - South Portland, ME

Closer View of the Map that Shows the C.A. Lawrence Pottery Building in Beverly, MA

Link to Map on Historic Map Works Website

Photo Courtesy: Historic Map Works - South Portland, ME

Pot Owned by Beverly, MA Historical Society

Huge 19th Century Presentation Pot Made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery - Beverly, Mass.

Made for Beverly's First Mayor in 1895

Circa 1895

Stands Approximately 20" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Beverly, MA Historical Society

Pot Found in Salem, Mass. in 2014

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Attributed to C.A. Lawrence Pottery - Beverly, Mass.

Decorated with Stamped Roman Crosses

This Handle Has Traces of Glaze

Circa 1880's or 1890's

 Found on Valentine's Day in Salem, Mass. in 2014

 Another View of the Pot

View of the Interior

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

A 19th Century Potpourri Jar Made at the New England Pottery Company in East Boston, Massachusetts

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins, (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) "In 1876 Thomas Gray and Lyman W. Clark, son of Decius W. Clark of Bennington, Vermont bought the East Boston Crockery Manufactory (formerly Boston Earthenware Manufactory Company) and changed the name to the New England Pottery Company.

Clark had much useful experience in preparing clays and glazes while at Bennington, then for a short time at Kaolin, South Carolina, and later at Peoria, Illinois. The first wares made under his direction at East Boston were of a utilitarian nature. From the company's advertisements we learn that white granite and common crockery, table and toilet ware were the sole output.

In 1881 they were also producing 'stone porcelain' ware. The same announcement appeared year after year until 1893, when chocolate pots, jugs, cuspidors, vases, etc. are mentioned. Some Parian ware of Bennington type was also made at East Boston.

We are indebted to Edwin Atlee Barber, who knew Lyman W. Clark personally, for a description of the New England Pottery Company wares and marks. He shows that the products were more ornate than the advertisements indicate. 

From 1886 to 1895, Thomas H. Copeland, of the famous English potting family, modeled most of the pieces. J.W. Phillips originated many of the designs used in the printing process (although some were also hand-decorated). Doulton and Royal Worcester wares were the sources of inspiration."

The following photograph is owned by Historic New England - and, it displays the New England Pottery Company factory in East Boston, Massachusetts, the company's employees and the company's kilns. I was not able to find an exact date for this picture, but I suspect it was taken in the late-nineteenth or early-twentieth-century.

A few days ago, I wrote about a rare teapot from this company, which was also hand-decorated with gold leafing. Today, I have another beautifully decorated object to show that was also made in the late-nineteenth-century at the New England Pottery Company (an antiques dealer from New Jersey currently has this object for sale on ebay).

However, this jar is also unusual, where it was produced with the intent that it would be used as a potpourri jar. But I also find it intriguing since it was manufactured with two lids; the outer lid is also decorated with gold leaf, whereas the inner lid was produced with a simpler gold design.

This potpourri jar is marked on the base with a clam shell and the word 'RIETI'' - this mark was only used by the New England Pottery Company for about a two-year period, circa 1888-1889. The 'RIETI' stamp is also a mark that is often mistaken today for Italian pottery, as-well-as a broader European attribution.

As a matter of fact, I have also found a number of these type of 'RIETI' products in the past decade, which were advertised with a European description in places like eBay, flea markets and various antique shops in New England.

Note: Here is a link to the article that I posted a few days ago about the teapot, which was made at the New England Pottery Company in East Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1886-1895. This article also provides a more in-depth analysis of this relatively unknown ceramic company today.

I also want to mention that many of the formal ceramics, which were manufactured at the New England Pottery Company in the late-nineteenth-century were decorated with a variety of beautiful Japonaiserie inspired themes.

New England Pottery Company - East Boston, Mass.

Original Photograph of the New England Pottery Company - East Boston, MA

This Photograph Shows the Company, Its Workers and the Company's Kilns

Circa Late-19th or Early-20th Century 

Link to Photograph on Historic New England's Website

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

A Closer View of the Photograph

Link to Photograph on Historic New England's Website

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

New England Pottery Company Potpourri Jar

19th Century Potpourri Jar

Made at the New England Pottery Company in East Boston, Mass.

 The Gold Decoration is Hand-Decorated

Marked 'RIETI'

Mark Used Circa 1888-1889

Stands 5 3/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: eBay

 View of the Outer Cover

Photo Courtesy: eBay

 View of Both Covers

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the 'RIETI' Mark

Photo Courtesy: eBay

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

A Beautiful Teapot Made at the New England Pottery Company in EastBoston, Massachusetts

The New England Pottery Company in East Boston, Massachusetts was a ceramic company that was largely discussed in 1893 when Edwin Atlee Barber (1851-1916) published, 'The Pottery and Porcelain of the United States.' This is remarkable since this company was still producing the type of pottery that Barber wrote about in 1893.

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins, (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) "In 1876 Thomas Gray and Lyman W. Clark, son of Decius W. Clark of Bennington, Vermont bought the East Boston Crockery Manufactory (formerly Boston Earthenware Manufactory Company) and changed the name to the New England Pottery Company.

Clark had much useful experience in preparing clays and glazes while at Bennington, then for a short time at Kaolin, South Carolina, and later at Peoria, Illinois. The first wares made under his direction at East Boston were of a utilitarian nature. From the company's advertisements we learn that white granite and common crockery, table and toilet ware were the sole output.

In 1881 they were also producing 'stone porcelain' ware. The same announcement appeared year after year until 1893, when chocolate pots, jugs, cuspidors, vases, etc. are mentioned. Some Parian ware of Bennington type was also made at East Boston.

We are indebted to Edwin Atlee Barber, who knew Lyman W. Clark personally, for a description of the New England Pottery Company wares and marks. He shows that the products were more ornate than the advertisements indicate. 

From 1886 to 1895, Thomas H. Copeland, of the famous English potting family, modeled most of the pieces. J.W. Phillips originated many of the deigns used in the printing process (although some were also hand-decorated). Doulton and Royal Worcester wares were the sources of inspiration."

This is a teapot that was made at the New England Pottery Company in East Boston - in-fact, this is the only teapot that I have seen from this company. Although, Historic New England and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City both own a variety of forms that were produced at this company. But this is the only teapot that I am aware of today.

I purchased this teapot almost ten-years ago from an antiques dealer in Chicago - I remember him telling me that he had found it locally. It also came with a matching double-handled sugar bowl. All of the gold decoration was hand-decorated, whereas the remaining decoration was applied during the printing process.

Note: Here are links to the New England Pottery Company objects that are owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Historic New England.

1) Metropolitan Museum of Art

2) Historic New England

Teapot Made in East Boston, Mass.

 Late-19th Century Teapot Manufactured at the New England Pottery Company - East Boston, MA

The Gold is Hand-Decorated, Whereas the Rest was Applied in the Printing Process 

Circa 1886-1895

Stands 4 1/4" Tall

 View of the Spout

 View of the Handle

View of the Lid

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

An Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar that was Possibly Made in the Hartford, Connecticut-Area

It was written in an article published in the 'New York Times' on March 4, 1979, "In 1823, when appraisers could be fined and jailed if they failed to make an exact and true inventory of an estate, those who listed the goods and property of Joseph Arnold of Haddam, Connecticut were careful to include used household articles that anyone making an equivalent list today would probably not consider worth mentioning. Then, however, 'old cider hogsheads and flour barrels' were enumerated along with family silver. 

Thus, in the list of his kitchen and dining-room furnishings, in addition to sets of wine glasses and Liverpool china, appraisers of the Arnold estate also duly noted 'two red earthenware chicken pye plates' valued at 10 cents each, and one 'red earthenware wash bowl' worth 12 cents. In today's (1979) terms those prices would translate as about $1 to $1.50.

Collectors of Connecticut pottery now value such slip-decorated redware chicken-pie plates, depending on condition, at prices at least 1,000 times greater, offering $1,200 to $2,000 for one plate. As for redware wash bowls, because their production continued later and they ware more easily found, their value on today's market ranges from $200 to $500, according to Lewis Scranton of Killingworth, Connecticut. Mr. Scranton, who has been collecting redware for the last twenty years (1959), is acknowledged by others in the field to have gathered up New England's most complete collection of early Connecticut redware forms.

His collection began with a well-worn dinner plate 'that had always been in the family,' and that was decorated with squiggles, as the wavy lines of white and yellow slip are called. Slip was liquid white or pipe clay poured from a cup through quills onto the earthenware. It was used to make zigzag and scroll decorations, sometimes straight lines, and less often to inscribe names and dates or to suggest the use (ex. chicken pye) for which a plate, dish or platter was intended.

No matter how great the quantities that once existed, early decorated redware is hard to find in good condition today. Because it was easily cracked, chipped or broken, much was discarded by its first owners. Because it was used for little-regarded or lowly household utensils and seldom if ever made into grand forms such as ornamental vases, it was not prized by early collectors. For many, interest in redware was sparked first when the book that is still the standard reference in the field, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' by Lura Woodside Watkins was published in 1950 by the Harvard University Press."

This is a rare tapered red earthenware jar that was likely made in Connecticut in the early-nineteenth-century. The style of the slip-decoration is comparable to some of the slip that was produced at the industry in Norwalk, Connecticut in the 1800's - whereas, the tapered form is similar to jars that were produced at potter's businesses, such as the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery in West Hartford, Connectict, circa 1795-1830 and the Hervey Brooks Pottery in Goshen, Connecticut, circa 1803-1867.

I do not believe it is completely recognized today that these type of tapered jars were produced in the Hartford, Connecticut-area in the nineteenth-century. For example, there are a few jars that were stamped by Hervey Brooks, which are owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts - and, the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, Connecticut also owns a group of tapered jars that were made by Hervey Brooks, along with a few tapered jars that were made at the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery.

But I also suspect that this type of form may have been manufactured elsewhere in Connecticut, as well. I have previously written about similar objects from my personal collection; although, this jar is especially intriguing since it is decorated in a style of slip that is regularly attributed to Connecticut today.

Note: I also noticed in the 'New York Times' article that I previously cited, which included a picture of an early-nineteenth-century slip-numbered red earthenware jar - this jar was made at the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery in West Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1800-1830. Most recently, this jar sold in Lewis Scranton's Collection in May 2016 at an onsite sale held by Skinner, Inc. in Killingworth, Connecticut. I have included a picture of the article, as-well-as a photograph of the jar below; however, here is also a link to this object's listing on Skinner's website.

Slip-Decorated Jar

 Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

Likely Manufactured in Connecticut

Possibly Made in the Hartford, CT-Area

Circa 1795-1860

Stands 9 " Tall

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection 

 Another View of the Slip-Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

Another View of the Slip-Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection 

View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection 

Another View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection 

Connecticut Jar Shown in 1979 'New York Times' Article

March 4, 1979 Article in the ' New York Times'

This Article Focused on Connecticut-Made Red Earthenware

Jar with the Slip-Numbered '6' was Made at the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery in W. Hartford, CT

Photo Courtesy: New York Times - NYC

This is the Same Jar that was Published in the 'New York Times' on March 4, 1979

Made at the Nathaniel Seymour Pottery in West Hartford, CT

Circa 1800-1830

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Ex-Lewis Scranton Collection - Killingworth, CT

This Jar Sold in May 2016 at Skinner, Inc in Killingworth, CT

Here is a Link to the Listing on Skinner's Website

Photo Courtesy: Lewis Scranton - Killingworth, CT

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

A Late-19th Century Painted Vase that was Recently Found in a House in Walpole, Maine

This is a wonderful handmade wooden vase that I just purchased from a picker in Maine - I was told that the vase was recently found in a house in the town of Walpole, Maine, which is located near Boothbay Harbor. The paint all appears original - the vase has been painted black, but it is also decorated with strawberries and other ornaments in gold and red paint. It also appears that the wood may be maple.

The main reason that I really wanted to own this vase was a result of the form and the painted decoration, which reminds me of similar red earthenware objects that were made at various New England potter's businesses in the late-nineteenth-century. These type of red earthenware objects were inspired from actual ancient forms that were made centuries ago.

I have read that nineteenth-century New England potter's used museum collections and prints, which displayed ancient Roman vases as resources for their creations. Basically, I felt this wooden vase fit in well with this type of pottery production that began with Charles A. Lawrence's business in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1872.

According to the book, 'In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement,' "Facsimiles of Greek terra-cotta vessels were some of the earliest artistic ceramics produced in America. The first known reference to an 'artware line' appeared in 1872, when the 'Beverly Pottery at the request of Boston ladies began to copy beautiful forms of ancient vases to order.' Charles A. Lawrence, the superintendent of that Massachusetts factory, intentionally limited his production of imitation Greek pottery, for he feared that if it became common it would depreciate in value. He therefore sold it only in small lots to his 'artistic' friends for their own private collections."

Note: It is difficult to prove, but I suspect that this painted ancient-style wooden vase may have been made in Maine in the late-1800's. I have also shown a group of late-nineteenth-century ancient-style red earthenware vases, which I feel are comparable to the wooden vase. I should also mention that at least three of the red earthenware objects were made at the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts after 1872; although, one of the objects is stamped with Lawrence's extremely rare mark and I believe that this vase may have been made in 1872.

Wooden Vase with Ancient-Style Red Earthenware Objects

(Middle Front) Late-19th Century Painted Wooden Vase

Reportedly Recently Found in a House in Walpole, ME

Form & Paint is Similar to Red Earthenware Objects Produced in New England After 1872
(Rest of Objects) Ancient-Style Vases Made at Various Potter's Businesses in New England
Circa 1872-1900

Wooden Vase

Late-19th Century Painted Wooden Vase
Possibly Made in Maine
The Wood Appears Like it Might Be Maple

Reportedly Recently Found in a House in Walpole, ME

Form & Paint is Similar to Red Earthenware Objects Produced in New England After 1872
Circa Late-1800's

Stands 11 1/4" Tall

View of the Interior

View of the Base

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