Excellent Examples of 19th Century Midwestern Red Earthenware and Stoneware Sell in Dousman, Wisconosin

Online bidding may have started at a dollar for every object at Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC. in Dousman Wisconson, but that's certainly not how it ended last night. The following nineteenth century red earthenware spaniels attributed to the industry in Galena, Illinois sold for $3,900 and $2,100 before the buyer's premium. They were sold as part of a two day estates auction; the last time I saw a Galena red earthenware spaniel sell, was last fall at Garth's Auctions in Delaware, Ohio, which brought $4,200 before the buyer's premium.

This sale also included some nice examples of stoneware, such as a 19th century five-gallon cobalt-decorated butter churn marked for a merchant, "L.S. Merrill and Company / Dealers in Stoneware / De Pere, Wis.," which sold for $3,000 before the buyer's premium. A rare three-gallon cobalt-decorated stoneware jug also sold for $3,200 before the buyer's premium, which had been made for a druggist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; it was marked "Wm Cunningham / Druggist / 151 East Water Street / Milwaukee, WI."

There were also plenty more examples of Midwestern stoneware and red earthenware, like objects attributed to Colgate, Wisconsin, Belmont, Wisconsin, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, Watertown, Wisconsin, Whitewater, Wisconsin, Portage, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Peoria, Illinois, Galena, Illinois and Evansville, Indiana,

Note: Here is a link to the online auction catalog.

RED EARTHENWARE
Lot No. 5

19th Century Red Earthenware Spaniel Attributed to Galena, IL

Circa 1860s-1870s

Stands 9" Tall

Sold: $3,900 Before the Buyer's Premium

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

Another View of the Spaniel

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC 

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

RED EARTHENWARE
Lot No. 7

 19th Century Red Earthenware Spaniel Attributed to Galena, IL

Circa 1860s-1870s

Stands 9" Tall

Sold: $2,100 Before the Buyer's Premium

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

 View of the Spaniel's Face

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

 View of the Spaniel's Back

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

STONEWARE
Lot No. 4

  19th Century Five-Gallon Stoneware Jug for a Druggist in Milwaukee, WI

Marked "L.S. Merrill and Company / Dealers in Stoneware / Depere, Wis."
Stands 17 7/8" Tall

Sold: $3,000 Before the Buyer's Premium

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

View of the Mark

Marked "L.S. Merrill and Company / Dealers in Stoneware / Depere, Wis."

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

STONEWARE
Lot No. 14

 19th Century Three-Gallon Stoneware Jug for a Druggist in Milwaukee, WI

Marked "Wm Cunningham / Druggist / 151 East Water Street / Milwaukee, WI."
Stands 15 1/2" Tall

Sold: $3,200 Before the Buyer's Premium

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

View of the Mark

Marked "Wm Cunningham / Druggist / 151 East Water Street / Milwaukee, WI."

Photo Courtesy: Bailey's Honor Auction and Estate Services, LLC

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

The Archaeology of an 18th Century Pottery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

According to the Red Rose Transit Authority in Lancaster City and County, Pennsylvania, "In September 2009, RRTA broke ground on Queen Street Station Phase III located on the corner of Queen and Chestnut Streets in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Phase III included a 395 space (seven levels) parking garage and three bus bays that gave RRTA access to Chestnut Street. 

As part of the construction of Queen Street Station Phase III, an archaeological excavation was completed at the site. The remains of an eighteenth century red earthenware potter's kiln and waste pile were discovered.

Although, the potter who operated this kiln has not been identified, it may have belonged to one of a few potters employed in Lancaster during this period, such as Jacob Marx (1750-1828), a German potter from Charlestown, Maryland. Marx operated his pottery in the borough of Lancaster between 1781-1792. 'Jacob Marks' appeared on the 1790 census for Lancaster City with a household of one male under 16 and four females. He does not appear to have lived in Lancaster City in 1800. Marx is listed on the Lancaster Borough tax list as a potter in 1782."

The potter responsible for these wares was apparently a remarkably skilled red earthenware potter in terms of the slip-decorations that were applied, which included tulips. This type of decoration could likely be interpreted as production from various locations today. An object of note that archaeologists recovered is a small bowl, which was intentionally manufactured with a glazed inverted base.

The remains of a cobalt-decorated stoneware jar were also recovered at this site. But no further evidence was discovered that would suggest Marx or any other Lancaster potter was manufacturing stoneware during this period, even though dual production of both red earthenware and stoneware occurred with a number of Pennsylvania's potters. It is possible that stoneware may have been manufactured locally in the eighteenth century, although, no stoneware kiln remains or kiln evidence was found.

Note: Here is a link to the archaeology report, which contains a lot more information about the archaeology/construction site.

An 18th Century Rendering of Lancaster, PA

An Artist's 1798 Rendering of Lancaster, PA

The Arrow Point to the Archaeology Site

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

Red Earthenware Kiln Remains in Downtown, Lancaster, PA

Remains of an 18th Century Red Earthenware Kiln in Downtown Lancaster, PA

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Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology 

 Remains of an 18th Century Red Earthenware Kiln in Downtown Lancaster, PA

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Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

Remains of an 18th Century Red Earthenware Kiln in Downtown Lancaster, PA

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Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

Examples of Red Earthenware Production

 18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherd

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology 

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA
Notice the Inverted Base

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

  18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

 18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

Stoneware Sherds Recovered at the Kiln Site

18th Century Cobalt Decorated Stoneware Sherds

Recovered at the Kiln Site in Downtown Lancaster, PA

Unknown if this was Made Locally

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: AECOM Archaeology

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

A Group of 19th/20th Century Red Earthenware Flowerpots Recovered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

A few years ago, I was told about a large group of urns made at the Portland Stoneware Company in the 1800s that had been recently removed from a cemetery in Portland, Maine, and thrown into a forest-area on the cemetery's property. Some of the urns sustained damage, but overall they were in great condition. It also appeared that the urns were originally purchased for the cemetery, likely when they were still made at the pottery.

Yesterday, a friend from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Charles Cormier stopped by my house in Newburyport, Massachusetts, who helped contribute some of the information that was published in the feature story I wrote, 'The Dodges and Their Potteries' for the February 2018 edition of Maine Antique Digest. He's also responsible for identifying the whereabouts of the circa 1796-1864 Dodge family pottery in Portsmouth - this site was later excavated by archaeologists from Strawbery Banke Museum in the 1980s.

Nevertheless, he brought with him a small collection of red earthenware flowerpot sherds that had been recovered from an old dump site near the current City Hall in Portsmouth, which was formerly the site of the Cottage Hospital that opened in 1895. In theory, these sherds may have been flowerpots thrown out by the hospital in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century.

A variety of styles of pots are represented; four of the flowerpots were produced with attached saucers, two were molded and another was likely made as a hanging pot. I have inserted a number next to each fragment in the picture, and the description about each sherd is found with the matching number below.

Red Earthenware Flowerpots Recovered in Portsmouth, NH

1) A similar style of flowerpot was made in Essex County, Massachusetts in the 19th/20th century, such as the Chase Pottery in Merrimacport, Mass. in the 1870s and 1880s, as well as the Moses Paige Pottery in Peabody, Mass., circa 1876-1940.

2) This style of molded flowerpot was manufactured in West Sterling, Massachusetts in the 19th/20th century. But this type of production may have been made elsewhere, as well.

3) 19th/20th century red earthenware flowerpot with an attached saucer and an exterior glaze likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

4) 19th/20th century red earthenware flowerpot with an attached saucer likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

5) This style of molded flowerpot was manufactured in West Sterling, Massachusetts in the 19th/20th century. But this type of production may have been made elsewhere, as well.

6) 19th/20th century red earthenware flowerpot with an attached saucer likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

7) 19th/20th century red earthenware hanging flowerpot sherd likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

8) 19th/20th century red earthenware flowerpot with an attached saucer likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

9) 19th/20th century red earthenware flowerpot sherd with an exterior glaze likely made in Essex County, Mass., New Hampshire or southern Maine.

19th/20th Century Red Earthenware Flowerpot Remains Recovered in Portsmouth, NH

See Article for More Information

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

A Collection of Mid-19th Century Pipes Recovered from the Wreck of the Arabia in Kansas City, Missouri

According to the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, "The steamboat Arabia was built in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania at the boat-yard of John S. Pringle in 1853. At 171 feet long and capable of carrying 222 tons of cargo, she was considered an average-sized packet boat. The 28-foot-tall paddle wheels could push the steamboat upstream at a speed of over five-miles per hour. Being a side-wheeler (having one paddle on each side, rather than just one in the back) made it easier to maneuver around hazards like sandbars and snags, although this would not save her in the end. In her heyday, though, the Arabia was considered a dependable vessel and soon gained a reputation for speed, safety and comfort. 

The Arabia traveled to Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for about two-years until she was purchased for $20,000 by Captain John Shaw of St. Charles, Missouri in February 1855. Her first trip on the Missouri River took her to Fort Pierre, South Dakota with 109 soldiers from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The muddy Missouri was notoriously difficult to navigate, hiding many hazards like sandbars and tree snags. 

In the spring of 1856, the Arabia was sold to Captain William Terrill and George Boyd, both of St. Louis. During the 1856 season, the Arabia made at least 14 trips on the Missouri River, including a journey of over 700 miles to the Yellowstone River in western North Dakota, which took nearly three-months to complete. 

The mighty steamboat Arabia made her last trip in 1856 sinking on September 5 in Kansas City. She carried 200 tons of mystery cargo intended for general stores along the frontier down to the bottom of the Missouri River.

For the next century and a half, the ship remained a popular piece of local lure, especially for the Sotor family who owned the property on which the wreck was sunk. In 1987, Bob Hawley and his two sons used old maps and a metal detector to find the ship, which they eventually located beneath a layer of mud and silt. The Hawleys and a handful of family friends, a massive crane and 20 irrigation pumps began pumping water out of the ditch. Excavation took roughly one year, but as soon as they reached the sunken hull they began uncovering treasure. 

They found remarkably preserved pioneer clothing, guns, knives, tinware, buttons, glass scroll flasks, oil lamps, glassware, Rockingham doorknobs, hinges, bed keys, wooden clothes pins, wooden buckets, mirrors, tools and so much more. Entire crates of imported China were perfectly preserved, the straw they were packed in yellow and dry. There was food which, though probably not appetizing, was still edible, including 29 jars of pickles."

A collection of mid-nineteenth century pipes and pipe stems were also recovered in the midst of all the cargo on the wreck of the Arabia. While much of the pottery on board the Arabia had been imported from England, these pipes appear to have been manufactured in America.

For instance, I wrote about a number of mid-nineteenth century pipes attributed to the Swank Pottery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that I had acquired in 2015 directly from a nineteenth century estate near Edensburg, Pennsylvania. The production appears similar even though the style of the pipe is different. But I suspect these pipes could have been manufactured in western Pennsylvania, Ohio Kentucky, Tennessee or even a Midwestern state that borders the Missouri River, like Missouri which is known to have employed a successful pottery industry in the 1800s.

Pipes Recovered from the Wreck of the Arabia

Mid-19th Century Pipes Recovered from the Wreck of the Arabia

Likely Manufactured in America

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Arabia Steamboat Museum

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

A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan from the Thomas Crafts Pottery in Whately, Massachusetts

Thomas Crafts (1781-1861) is probably most known today for the black-glazed red earthenware teapots that his pottery (established ca. 1806) manufactured in Whately, Massachusetts during the circa 1821-1833 period. It has been reported that the Crafts company made as many as 2,067 dozen teapots annually, and they were sold at a wholesale price of $1.00/dozen. But aside from that, he also manufactured stoneware after 1833, as well as all of the typical forms of red earthenware.

It's in rough shape, but this is an extremely rare red earthenware milk pan that just sold on eBay, and was manufactured at the Crafts Pottery. The center has been impressed with the mark "T CRAFTS AND CO."  This is a mark that Crafts regularly applied to stoneware, which possibly suggests that his business continued to produced some red earthenware even after stoneware production began in the 1830s.

There are not many of these marked pans known today; in fact, the only other example that I know about is owned by Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Old Sturbridge Village and Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts also each own a marked milk pan from Thomas Crafts brother, Justus Crafts (1791-1869) that was likely made in Whately. But he also produced red earthenware in Berlin, Vermont, circa 1816-1823 along with his twin brother, Justin Crafts (1791-1850) who produced red earthenware in Berlin for a longer period.

Milk Pan from Whately, Massachusettts

19th Century Red Earthenware Milk Pan Market "T. CRAFTS AND CO."

Thomas Crafts Operated a Pottery in Whately, Mass.

Measures 16 1/2" in Diameter

Stands 4" Tall

See Article for More Informatin

Photo Courtesy: eBay

 A View of the Mark "T. CRAFTS AND CO."

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Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: eBay

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

An Introductory Report: The 18th Century Red Earthenware Pottery of John Hinds in Holland, Massachusetts

I find it truly exciting when learning new information about undocumented American potters or a previously unknown style of production at any given potter's business from the seventeenth, eighteenth or nineteenth century. This is exactly what happened recently when I learned about the remains of a kiln discovered in Holland (South Brimfield), Massachusetts in the twentieth century.

Doug Lyon and a friend made the discovery in the 1980s, and it was determined that the site of the kiln was once owned and operated by a red earthenware potter named, John Hinds (d. 1793) for a period in the eighteenth century. The site was later excavated in 1987 by Lyon, his friend and a team of archaeologists from Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

This was a significant discovery for more than one reason, which included the fact that Hinds is not listed as a potter in Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins' book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares.' But Hinds was clearly a skilled potter based on some of the artifacts I have posted below, such as the use of slip-decoration on either plates or pans.

I have not been able to find any background information about Hinds, yet, but he may have first appeared around the period when Holland was incorporated into a town on July 5, 1783. Hinds may have also trained as a potter in coastal Massachusetts or possibly even in Charlestown, Massachusetts before the American Revolution. For instance, some of the slip-decorated sherds that I have posted today do slightly resemble known styles from Charlestown's industry.

Regardless, this is quite fascinating, and may serve as further proof that there is still so much more to be learned about the use of slip-decoration, among eighteenth century red earthenware potters in New England, and especially in Massachusetts.

The Site of Johns Hinds' Kiln in Holland, Mass.

John Hinds Site Crew Gathered Around the Kiln Base in 1987 in Holland, Mass.

Hinds Produced Red Earthenware at this Site in the 18th Century

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Another View of the Kiln Base

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Drawing by Old Sturbridge Village of the Kiln Floor of John Hinds' Pottery in Holland, Mass.

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Kiln Furniture Remains from the John Hinds Pottery

Kiln Furniture Recovered at the Site of the Johns Hinds Pottery

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Kiln Furniture Recovered at the Site of the Johns Hinds Pottery

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Kiln Furniture Recovered at the Site of the Johns Hinds Pottery

The Unglazed Sections Likely Reveal the Stacking of Plates or Pans

See Slip-Decorated Sherds Below for Potential Examples

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Slip-Decorated and Incised Red Earthenware Artifacts from the Hinds Pottery

Artifacts Recovered at the Site of the John Hinds Pottery in Holland, Mass. 

Slip-Decorated and Incised Red Earthenware

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Closeup of the Incised Decoration

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Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Slip-Decorated Rim Sherd

Likely from a Plate or a Pan

 See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

Slip-Decorated Rim Sherd

Likely from a Plate or a Pan

 See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Doug Lyon

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

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Recovered in Wilmington, Delaware

This article concludes the objects that I have written about this week discovered by Chris Rowell from various eighteenth century contexts. This particular slip-decorated chamber pot was recovered from a circa 1750s-1780s privy in Wilmington, Delaware. This is certainly a fascinating object to see aesthetically, but I cannot remember if I have seen this exact style of slip-decoration before. Although, it is highly likely that this chamber pot was imported into Wilmington, possibly before the American Revolution.

Wilmington is a coastal community located on the Delaware River, which was a major water route regularly utilized to transport goods in the 1700s and 1800s. For example, the potters in Philadelphia are known to have regularly shipped utilitarian pottery to Delaware in the eighteenth century. But the river also provided opportunity for merchants to trade goods during this period that may have also included red earthenware or stoneware.

Further proof of this trade is likely represented in an article I posted in November 2013 that showed a couple of objects that I saw on display at the University of Delaware, which had been recovered by archaeologists at the site of the seventeenth and eighteenth century New Sweden settlement in Delaware. The location of this settlement is now found in present-day Wilmington. Among the objects was a remarkable slip-decorated red earthenware pan that closely resembled a pan recovered by archaeologists within a Colonial eighteenth century context in Philadelphia.

Chamber Pot Recovered in Wilmington, DE

18th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot

Recovered from a Circa 1750s-1780s Privy in Wilmington, DE

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Chris Rowell

Another View of the Chamber Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Chris Rowell

Another View of the Chamber Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Chris Rowell

View of the Handle

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Photo Courtesy: Chris Rowell

View of the Interior

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Photo Courtesy: Chris Rowell

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