Red Earthenware Boston Baked Bean Pots that were Produced in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

There are many commemorative miniature late nineteenth and early twentieth-century red earthenware bean pots known to exist today impressed with the marks, 'Necco BOSTON BAKED BEANS' or 'BOSTON BAKED BEANS.' Presumably, the objects that were stamped with the 'BOSTON BAKED BEANS' mark may have been made in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries; although, the objects marked, 'Necco BOSTON BAKED BEANS' likely date from the early twentieth-century.

According to Wikipedia, "The New England Confectionery Company (or NECCO), a manufacturer of candy was established in 1901, by the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the greater Boston area."

I have never been able to accurately identify where these small commemorative pots were produced, but I have always assumed that they were made in Essex County, Massachusetts at either the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery (circa 1866-1906) in Beverly, Massachusetts or the Moses Paige Pottery (ca. 1876-1930's) in Peabody, Massachusetts. Both companies are known to have manufactured a large number of bean pots during this period, especially the Lawrence Pottery, which is (partially?) responsible for Boston's nickname 'Beantown,' as a result of a group of commemorative bean pots, which the company was commissioned to produce in 1890.

According to writer, Mark Mancini, "Boston hosted a Civil War veteran's convention during the summer of 1890. To commemorate this gathering, the Beverly Pottery Company handed out small, ribbon-bound bean pots as souvenirs. Afterwards, when asked where they'd gotten such neat little gifts, many of the vets supposedly replied, 'Bean-Town.'"

1907 Souvenir Post Card that Shows a Red Earthenware Bean Pot

The Bean Pot is Marked 'BOSTON BAKED BEANS'

Photo Courtesy: Boston Public Library

Nevertheless, this is a commemorative bean pot that I recently found listed on eBay - the seller described it as "a rare pot with printed information on both sides about a specific event that happened in Boston in 1897.

The initials 'HMMBA' that were printed on one side of the pot indicate the group for whom the pot was made: the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association. This group began in 1897 to provide insurance for hotel owners. 

The printed date, June 9, 1897 was the time of the group's annual meeting, held in Boston that year. Hundreds of hotel men from the United States and Canada attended. Although, the date is the week before the annual convention, perhaps for a preliminary meeting of only executives. The pot represents a baked bean pot, which was symbolic of Boston's famous dish since Pilgrim times. The other side of the pot indicates that it was a gift from Bernard & Frank, 174 Fulton Street, New York. The company manufactured novelty items in the 1800's, but it is no longer in business today."

I would not be surprised to learn that this pot was also commissioned from a local Boston-area manufacturer, such as the businesses, which I have previously cited from Essex County. It is also worth noting that the Lawrence Pottery in Beverly is known to have used painted stencils to mark pots for clients in the late nineteenth-century.

Late 19th Century Souvenir Red Earthenware Bean Pot

Possibly Made in Essex County, Mass.

Circa 1897

Stands 3" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Bernard & Frank Information

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Interior

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: eBay

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

Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker: An Early Collector of 18th and 19th Century Pennsylvania Red Earthenware

According to the Allentown, Pennsylvania Leader from June 9, 1909, "The exhibit of earthenware, made at the early potteries of Eastern Pennsylvania, especially in Bucks County, attracted much attention at the rooms of the Montgomery County Historical Society at Norristown, Pennsylvania. Former Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker (1843-1916) was on hand early and not a piece escaped his critical eye. He had none in the cases (from his collection), but said he had quite a collection at his Schwenksville, Pennsylvania home."

Allentown, PA Daily Leader, June 9, 1909

An Article About Local Red Earthenware was Published in this Edition

Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker is Cited as a Collector of Redware

Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com

Governor Pennypacker's appreciation for early American red earthenware is also documented in the book, 'Creating a Dignified Past: Museums and the Colonial Revival:' In addition to writing more than 50 books and papers, Samuel Pennypacker joined many historical organizations. He was a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for 44 years, and served as its president for the last 16 years of his life. He also belonged to the Sons of the Revolution, the American Philosophical Society, the Society of the War of 1812, and the Philobiblon Club. He was also a founder and officer of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. 

While governor, his administration established the State Museum, including a Department of History, and he began the preservation and cataloging of all state records. He also served as a trustee for the University of Pennsylvania and as a member of the Valley Forge Park Commission.

Pennypacker displayed an equally strong interest in material culture, often concentrating on folk examples or the mundane items of daily life. In some ways he was a forerunner of today's material culture historians.

He traveled widely through the rural counties of Eastern Pennsylvania, saturating himself in local traditions, visiting elderly natives, and exploring old houses. While others at the historical society collected Revolutionary War records, William Penn's private papers, or drafts of the United States constitution, Pennypacker avidly sought the documents of everyday life: journals, diaries, wills, old deeds and bibles. Decades later such material is widely valued. As one historian noted of Pennypacker's activities, 'He made the field of Pennsylvania Dutch history his own.'

Pennypacker displayed a similar appreciation for the creations of rural artisans, collecting fraktur, redware, pewter, and provincial linens, as well as raw flax from historic houses, farm kitchen tools, even colonial umbrellas. It was most important for him to know the original owner's name, or to have an item associated with an event."

Unfortunately, I have not found any red earthenware that can be directly linked to Pennypacker today; although, he appears to have been an early proponent of domestic red earthenware, similar to some of the individuals who actively sought pottery at institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Historic New England in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries.

Note: This nineteenth-century black glazed red earthenware teapot is owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art today. It is also an object that the museum acquired in the late nineteenth-century.

19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Teapot

Attributed to the Thomas Haig Pottery - Philadelphia

Circa 1840-1850

Stands 5 5/16" Tall

Acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1892

Photo Courtesy: Philadelphia Museum of Art

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

A Wholesale Order of Charlestown Red Earthenware that was Shipped to Cape Ann in Massachusetts in 1747

According to the website, NorthofBoston.org, "Cape Ann is made up of four communities: Gloucester, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Rockport, Massachusetts." Presumably, these were also the same communities that formed Cape Ann when the region was referenced in 1747 in John Parker's Charlestown, Massachusetts potter's daybook, which is owned by the Baker Library at Harvard University today.

It is written in Parker's daybook that Mr. Thomas Rand from Cape Ann ordered a parcel of (red) earthenware in 1747, which must have been shipped from the Parker Pottery dock in Charlestown.

Interestingly, the definition of a parcel is "...A collection of things in an order to be shipped or an amount of something, especially as dealt with one commercial transaction." 

The type of forms that Rand ordered are not documented, but the decorations likely included slip-decoration. Slip was a popular style of decoration with the potter's businesses in Charlestown before the American Revolution, especially at the Parker Pottery, circa 1714-1755.

I would also assume that this order of red earthenware was shipped to Gloucester since that was the largest of the four communities in Cape Ann in 1747. This was also a period when Gloucester's population saw an uprise with a growing community around the Annisquam River. But Gloucester was never a city that sustained a red earthenware industry - there were some potters, who manufactured utilitarian pottery in the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries; however, there are no documented potters producing red earthenware in the 1740s or 1750s.

It is only speculation, although, I assume that Mr. Thomas Rand must have been a merchant. This also appears to have been a one time order since neither Cape Ann nor Rand are referenced, again in Parker's circa 1747-1761 potter's daybook.

Note: I have also included pictures of three mugs that were recovered in mid eighteenth-century archaeological contexts in Charlestown, Massachusetts. This may have been a form that was shipped from the Parker Pottery in Charlestown to Mr. Thomas Rand in Cape Ann in 1747.

John Parker's Charlestown, Mass. Potter's Daybook

Page Taken from John Parker's Charlestown, Mass. Potter's Daybook

Daybook Circa 1747-1761

 Photo Courtesy: Baker Library - Harvard University

The Parker Pottery Shipped a Wholesale Order of Red Earthenware to Cape Ann in 1747

The Order was Shipped to Mr. Thomas Rand

Photo Courtesy: Baker Library - Harvard University

Red Earthenware Mugs Recovered in Charlestown, Mass.

18th Century Red Earthenware Mug Recovered in Mid 18th Century Context in Charlestown, Mass.

Attributed to Charlestown, Mass.

Found in a Privy at the Three Cranes Tavern

 Photo Courtesy: Massachusetts Historical Commission - Boston

18th Century Red Earthenware Mugs Recovered in Mid 18th Century Context in Charlestown, Mass.

Attributed to Charlestown, Mass.

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

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

A Few Pieces of Damaged New England Red Earthenware

My feelings towards certain types of domestic nineteenth-century red earthenware has evolved since I began studying utilitarian pottery more than a decade ago. I care more about the aesthetics and condition today than I would have in previous years; although, I used to (and likely still do) view a damaged object as something that I could learn from, such as where it was made or the context that it was discovered. This type of information has often helped provide me with a better understanding about the type of pottery, which was made in various locations throughout America in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

Yesterday, I grabbed three random damaged objects from my cellar that I thought I would share today - these objects do not necessarily offer much for monetary value. But there is an intellectual value that these objects can contribute, which ideally provides a better understanding about a specific potter's business or the region that it was produced.

Maine Red Earthenware Pot

I bought this pot as a study object a few years ago, as a result of the handle placement. This pot was likely made in southern Maine during the circa 1820-1860 period. This would also be a desirable object today if it were not for the glaze loss that covers most of the exterior. 

The overall form and base is comparable to objects that are attributed to pottery made in places like Buxton, Maine, circa 1820-1880; however, the handle placement on those type of southern Maine pots is usually attached to the rim. I bought this pot due to the unusual handle placement that wraps back around and attaches at the body. 

It is documented today that the southern Maine potters (and really many of Maine's potters) are known for the variety of forms that they produced in the 1800s, such as multiple jug forms. I believe this is an example of a pot that was produced in southern Maine with a less-common handle, as opposed to the more traditional handled pots that were attached at the rim, which are known from this region today.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot with Colorful Glaze

The Form Suggests that it was Made in Southern Maine

Previously Owned by a Collector in New Hampshire

Circa 1800-1860

Stands 7 3/8" Tall

 Another View of the Pitcher

 View of the Handle

View of the Footed Base

Probably New Hampshire Red Earthenware Pot

This is a nineteenth-century red earthenware pot that I pulled out of an eighteenth-century estate in Kennebunkport, Maine a few summers ago. Traditionally, this pot would likely be attributed to Maine today, as a result of where it was found, as well as the colorful glaze. But this pot was also manufactured with a distinct type of press-molded handle. I have seen this type of handle applied on a variety of colorfully glazed objects from New England in the 1800's. The handled forms range from pitchers to pots to large multi-gallon red earthenware jugs. The colorful glazes are also often manufactured with multiple colors; however, I have also seen this type of handle used on an object that was decorated with a simple reddish-brown glaze.

Nevertheless, I have not (yet) been able to accurately identify the specific location responsible for this type of handle; although, I do question if it is more about the location that produced this style of handle as opposed to a single potter's business. I know that the easy answer would be to attribute this object to Maine, but I feel this type of handle was more likely produced in New Hampshire in the nineteenth-century.

My reason for suggesting such an attribution is a result of some objects with this type of handle that I have seen appear in the Rochester, New Hampshire and Concord, New Hampshire areas. The Rochester and Concord areas are also both places that supported red earthenware industries in the 1800's.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot 

Possibly Made in the Rochester, NH or Concord, NH Areas

Found in an Estate in Kennebunkport, ME

Circa 1800-1860

Stands 7 7/8" Tall

 Another View of the Pot

 View of the Handle

Another View of the Handle

Essex County, Mass. or Southern NH Red Earthenware Pot

It has probably been six years since I purchased this nicely glazed red earthenware pot from an antique dealer in New Hampshire. However, I am not completely convinced that this object was made in New Hampshire - truthfully, that would be the easy attribution, which would likely be developed based on the generic green glaze with orange spots. 

I purchased this pot with the thought that it may have been made in Essex County, Massachusetts in the eighteenth or early nineteenth-century. There was a lot of pottery produced in Essex County during this period, and some of the pottery, which survives from this industry today is mistaken for production elsewhere in New England. 

The handle on this pot is similar to handles that I have seen recovered in an archaeological context at the site of the Osborn Pottery in Peabody (formerly South Danvers), Massachusetts; although, the Osborns are also known to have branched out into New Hampshire in the nineteenth-century. I feel a completely accurate attribution to Essex County or southern New Hampshire is difficult to prove today without further evidence. But that is also why I have held onto this object.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pot

Probably Made in Essex County, Mass. or Southern NH

Found in Central New Hampshire in 2012

Circa 1790-1840

Stands 8 7/8" Tall

 Another View of the Pot

 Another View of the Pot

View of the Handle

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

A Beautiful Late 18th or Early 19th Century Green Glazed Jug from Bristol County, Massachusetts

Recently, I was lucky to privately acquire a wonderful late eighteenth or early nineteenth-century green glazed red earthenware jug that is attributed to Bristol County, Massachusetts, circa 1780-1820. The glaze is spectacular, as well as the form. Obviously, the glaze is what draw me to this jug, but I also liked the form since this double-lipped rim is a rare style of jug to find today with a green glaze from Bristol County.

The form is very similar to a rare slip-decorated red earthenware jug that I own, which was also made in Bristol County. To my knowledge: this is the only jug known to exist today that was decorated with this style of slip from Bristol County; although, there is a pitcher that is also known, which resides in a prominent Pennsylvania collection.

Bristol County, Mass. Red Earthenware Jug

(Right) Late 18th or Early 19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jug

Attributed to Bristol County, Mass.

The Slip-Decoration is Extremely Rare from this Region

Circa 1780-1820

Stands 8 7/8" Tall

Green Glazed Red Earthenware

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug

Attributed to Bristol County, Mass.

Circa 1780-1820

 Stands 5 7/8" Tall

Another View of the Jug

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

A Recently Acquired 19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Butter Crock

I recently acquired this rare nineteenth-century slip-decorated red earthenware butter crock from Waynesboro, Virginia antique dealers, Christopher and Bernadette Evans. It was made at the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery (ca. 1866-1906) in Beverly, Massachusetts, circa 1870. I have never seen this form from Lawrence's business before - understandably, it is also an object that I am definitely happy to have obtained.

The crock previously sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in October 2015. Crocker Farm described the crock as "...a remarkable survivor, essentially in as-made condition." 

A few yeas ago, I also purchased a slip-decorated red earthenware pitcher from East Waterford, Pennsylvania antique dealers and artists, Jeff and Kathy Graybill, which was also made at the Lawrence Pottery, circa 1870. But what makes these objects special today is the fact that they are both decorated with the same slip pattern. The Lawrence Pottery is known to have applied a few styles of slip in the 1860s and 1870s; although, any type of slip-decorated red earthenware from the Lawrence Pottery is still considered rare today.

Slip-Decorated Pitcher & Crock

(Left) 19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery - Beverly, Mass.

Acquired a Few Years Ago from Pennsylvania

Circa 1870

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Slip-Decorated Crock

19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Butter Crock

Attributed to the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery - Beverly, Mass.

Recently Acquired from Virginia

Circa 1870

Stands 3 3/4" Tall

Measures 8 1/8" in Diameter

Another View of the Crock

View of the Interior

View of the Base

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

A Beautifully Glazed 19th Century Red Earthenware Stew Pot that Will Sell Later this Month in Maryland

Later this month, Crocker Farm will hold its annual spring 2017 auction in Sparks, Maryland. It should be no surprise, either that the auction will contain a variety of museum quality examples of American-made red earthenware and stoneware. I think most will agree that the most important example of pottery in the sale is an incredible mid nineteenth-century face vessel, which is attributed to Cassville, Pennsylvania; although, the object's faces may have been influenced by the Bell family in Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well.

Nevertheless, this nineteenth-century red earthenware stew pot will be included in the sale - it really spoke to me since it reminds me of a rare object that is owned by Historic New England today. I suspect that these objects may be related, as a result of the copper that can be seen throughout the glazes. A proper attribution is difficult, but I imagine that both of these objects could have been made in southern Maine, circa 1800-1860.

I was really impressed when I saw the pitcher at Historic New England's storage facility last year in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The combination of the form and glaze were wonderful. This stew pot appears like it was manufactured in a very similar manner.

I had suggested last year that Historic New England's pitcher may have been made by John Alld in Hollis, Maine; however, I am not certain of that attribution. Here is a link to the initial article that I wrote about the pitcher.

Note: Here is also a link to the featured objects, which will sell later this month at Crocker Farm in Maryland. The general auction catalog will also be available later this month.

Stew Pot Consigned to Crocker Farm in Maryland

 19th Century Red Earthenware Stew Pot Probably Made in Southern Maine
Possibly Made by John Alld - Hollis, ME

Circa 1800-1860

Stands 5 3/4" Tall

Will Be Sold in Maryland on March 25, 2017

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Pitcher Owned by Historic New England

 19th Century Red Earthenware Stew Pot Probably Made in Southern Maine
Possibly Made by John Alld - Hollis, ME

Circa 1800-1860

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

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