Feature Story About the Newburyport, Massachusetts Pottery Exhibit Published in Antiques & Auction News

Most people who read this website probably know I guest curated a pottery exhibit that is currently on display at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The exhibit, "Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics" runs through April 2020, and it has received great reviews so far, as well as some wonderful press from the media.

The latest feature story about the exhibit was just published today in the most recent issue of Antiques & Auction News, a Mid-Atlantic publication that is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary (1969-2019).

Here is a link to the online version of the story, titled, "Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics." I will post the print version once it becomes available.

Feature Story Published About the Newburyport, Mass. Pottery Exhibit

"Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics"

Feature Story Published Today in Antiques & Auction News

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

19th Century Stoneware Temperance Jug from the Bray Pottery in Evansville, Indiana

Nineteenth century temperance jugs are most recognizable today from the Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick Pottery in Anna, Illinois; however, this type of production is also found with other Midwestern potters, such as documented examples from Indiana and Missouri, as well as businesses elsewhere in America.

This particular stoneware jug sold at Case Antiques in Knoxville, Tennessee in August 2017. The jug is incised allover, creating a tree bark appearance; it is also decorated with a hand modeled monkey, a lizard, a snake and a turtle. The side of the jug is incised, "B. / 1885," and the base is signed, "Bray / 1885."

The jug is attributed to Simeon Lewis Bray (1849-1914) in Evansville, Indiana, who was born in Blackstone near Worcester, Massachusetts in 1849, but moved with his family at a young age to Wisconsin. Although, he and his brother, William Bray lived in Anna for many years, likely apprenticing or working at the Kirkpatrick Pottery. Afterwards, they relocated more than 100 miles west establishing a pottery in Evansville in the mid-1870s, possibly attracted to the thriving river trade along the Ohio River.

This example may be one of the better known temperance jugs from the Bray pottery, where some of the other examples appear like those made in Anna. Simeon and William were likely introduced to this type of production in the early-1870s when it first became popular with the Kirkpatrick brothers. This example is a little more unique in its form and appearance than some of the other known examples, which are all extraordinary survivors and extremely rare objects to find today.

According to Case Antiques, "Simeon married Martha Scher on January 27, 1876 in Evansville, and remained in the area until at least 1901. By 1910 he is working in St. Louis, Missouri as a potter. Simeon died there in 1914, but was buried in Evansville."

Simeon was also involved with all sorts of patents while working in Evansville, some related to pottery production, while others were unrelated. For example, I have posted a patent below for a fruit jar holder that was published in 1901. He is also listed as a general contractor in the Evansville City Director throughout the 1890s.

Temperance Jug from Evansville, Indiana

 19th Century Temperance Snake Jug

Attributed to Simeon Bray (1849-1914) in Evansville, Indiana

Circa 1885

Stands 7 3/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Case Antiques

Another View of the Jug

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Photo Courtesy: Case Antiques

 Another View of the Jug

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Photo Courtesy: Case Antiques

The Side of the Jug is Inscribed"B. / 1885"

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Photo Courtesy: Case Antiques

The Base of the Jug is Inscribed "Bray / 1885"

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Photo Courtesy: Case Antiques

Simeon L. Bray Fruit Jar Holder Patent

Fruit Jar Holder

Patented by Simeon L. Bray in Evansville, IN in 1901

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Tobacco Humidor in the Shape of a Kiln Made on Staten Island in New York City

While working on a research project about the eighteenth and nineteenth century domestic household pottery on Staten Island in New York City, I came across this fascinating terra cotta tobacco humidor in the shape of a kiln from the collection of the Staten Island Historical Society. The humidor is marked near the base, "ATLANTIC TERRA COTTA CO," and it may have been designed as a presentation piece or for promotional purposes, such as marketing to architects.

Founded in the late-1890s by De Forest Grant, William D. Frerichs, S.S. Whitehurst and Charles U. Thrall, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company became one of the largest terra cotta manufacturers in the United States, largely as a result of company mergers. The first merger occurred in 1906-07 when the Perth Amboy, New Jersey Terra Cotta Company, the Excelsior Terra Cotta Company, and the Standard Terra Cotta Company merged with the Staten Island firm under the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company name. The company's production was also split between its location at 101 Ellis Street on Staten Island and the main factory and kilns that were located about four miles south in Perth Amboy.

According to the historical society, "For over three decades, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company designed and manufactured architectural fabric and ornament, sculpture, and garden pottery that was installed and used in almost every major American city as well as abroad. Founded in 1897, the company opened its factory in Tottenville, Staten Island, in 1898 and expanded rapidly. By 1906, the Tottenville plant was employing 450 to 500 men and was producing the fabric and ornament for such prestigious projects as the first New York City subway stations, the upper stories of the Flatiron Building, and the Plaza Hotel."

I suspect that much of the beautiful ornamental terra cotta found throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and New York City's other boroughs, as well as possibly even Hartford, Connecticut may have originated at the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company. For instance, I posted a picture of a wonderful building covered in terra cotta design that I saw last spring while visiting Hartford. Interestingly, by 1910, about seventy percent of New York City's high-rise buildings were built utilizing some type of terra cotta, some of which was in classic ancient designs.

The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company ceased production on Staten Island in 1930, but the building's 135 foot smokestack remained a landmark site on Staten Island until it was torn down in 1988.

Tobacco Humidor in the Shape of a Kiln

 Late-19th or Early-20th Century Terra Cotta Tobacco Humidor

Made at the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company on Staten Island or Perth Amboy, NJ

Circa 1898-1930

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Staten Island Historical Society

View of the Mark, "ATLANTIC TERRA COTTA CO."

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Photo Courtesy: Staten Island Historical Society

Original Sign from the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company

Measures H 27.5" x W 19.5" x D 5.5"

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Photo Courtesy: Guernsey's New York

The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company at 101 Ellis Street on Staten Island

Circa 1898-1930

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Photo Courtesy: Staten Island Historical Society

Employees of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company on Staten Island
Circa 1920

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Photo Courtesy: Staten Island Historical Society

The Site of the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company Today at 101 Ellis Street on Staten Island
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Photo Courtesy: AbandonedNYC

Terra Cotta in Hartford, Connecticut

Building Decorated with Ornamental Terra Cotta in Hartford, CT

Possibly Made at the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company or Another Northeastern Manufacturer

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The Red Earthenware in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century

I was just going through some pictures this morning that were taken this summer in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and this particular tidal spot in Portsmouth is filled with nineteenth and early-twentieth century artifacts, some may even date to the eighteenth century. We found a few handfuls of New England red earthenware, but it's nearly impossible to identify where these pieces were made.

This area is located a short distance from Strawbery Banke and Prescott Park, which is where docks were located in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The area is also surrounded by some of Portsmouth's oldest homes.

A misconception that I have found with red earthenware recovered in Portsmouth is that it was all made locally. However, I have studied the archaeology collections at Stawbery Banke's Archaeology Department extensively, and the reality is that some pottery was made in Portsmouth in the 1700s and 1800s, but a large amount was also imported from other businesses located elsewhere in central and northern New England.

For instance, wares were shipped to Portsmouth from Newburyport and Charlestown, Massachusetts in the eighteenth century, and in the nineteenth century it was shipped from areas located to the north, west and south. I have seen wares that were made in North Yarmouth, Maine, Rochester, New Hampshire area, Concord, New Hampshire and Merrimacport, Massachusetts.

For more information about the locally made red earthenware available in Portsmouth in the 1700s and 1800s - I suggest these two feature stories that I wrote, which were published in the April 2017 issue of the New England Antiques Journal and the February 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest.

1) A Pioneering Potter: Samuel Marshall of Portsmouth, New Hampshire

2) The Dodges and Their Potteries

Red Earthenware Artifacts Recovered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Tidal Waterway in Portsmouth, NH

This Area is Filled with Artifacts

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Tidal Waterway in Portsmouth, NH

This Area is Filled with Artifacts

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Tidal Waterway in Portsmouth, NH

This Area is Filled with Artifacts

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My Niece Alexis with Some of the New England Red Earthenware We Recovered

It's Nearly Impossible to Say if These Were Made in Portsmouth, NH

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Some of the New England Red Earthenware We Recovered

It's Nearly Impossible to Say if These Were Made in Portsmouth, NH

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Some of the New England Red Earthenware We Recovered

It's Nearly Impossible to Say if These Were Made in Portsmouth, NH

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Colonial Sheet Music Published by Daniel Bayley from the Benjamin Lincoln House in Hingham, Massachusetts

The published works by Daniel Bayley (1729-1792) in Newburyport, Massachusetts is an area that I felt was important to showcase at the local pottery exhibit, currently on display at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, titled, Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics. Bayley is well known today for his red earthenware and slipware production in Gloucester and Newbury (Newburyport after 1764) before and after the American Revolution, which is represented in major museums across the country. However, he was also a prominent publisher of sheet music in the 1760s and 1770s.

This particular example, The Gentleman and Ladies Musical Companion, published in 1774, just sold last weekend at Skinner in Marlborough, Massachusetts. It had been owned by the Major General Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810) House, which is a National Historic Landmark at 181 North Street in Hingham, Massachusetts. Major General Lincoln was a military leader during the American Revolution. The house dates to the seventeenth century with a number of eighteenth century additions.

Sheet Music Published by Daniel Bayley from the Benjamin Lincoln House

Major General Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810) House in Hingham, Mass.

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The Gentleman and Ladies Musical Companion

Published by Daniel Bayley in Newburyport, Mass. in 1774

Formerly Owned by the Benjamin Lincoln House in Hingham, Mass.

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Photo Courtesy: Skinner

 One of the Pages from the Interior of the Book

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Photo Courtesy: Skinner

View of the Back Cover

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Photo Courtesy: Skinner

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19th Century North Yarmouth, Maine Red Earthenware Jar Found in an Old Basement in Newburyport, Massachusetts

This is a nineteenth century red earthenware jar attributed to the industry in North Yarmouth, Maine, which is definitely noteworthy, even though it was not illustrated in the feature story I wrote about this industry for the November 2019 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled, The North Yarmouth, Maine, Pottery Industry, 1791-1890. This is a beautifully glazed object that should certainly be documented, as well as retaining a wonderful provenance.

The history of this jar is great - it was found years ago in an old basement in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Newburyport is also where this industry originated, when a potter left the 1763-1799 Daniel Bayley Pottery Company, and migrated north to North Yarmouth, establishing a business in 1791 that helped transform the area into an industry in the 1800s.

The jar also retains its original lid, where the base of the jar and the bottom of the lid have been inscribed with the number "2." For more information about this industry, I suggest the link I provided above or I recommend searching Maine Antique Digest's website for the recently published story.

North Yarmouth, Maine Red Earthenware Jar

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Retaining its Original Lid
Attributed to the Industry in North Yarmouth, Maine
The Lid and Base of the Jar are Inscribed with a Matching Number "2"

Found Years Ago in an Old Basement in Newburyport, Mass.

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

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Red Earthenware Basket Found in Central Pennsylvania

While visiting central Pennsylvania a few weeks ago, I stopped in some of the area's antique shops; some of the shops are well known and others are not. I found this somewhat large red earthenware basket in the New Oxford Antiques Center. I believe the basket could date from the late-nineteenth century.

This basket may have been made in imitation of silver baskets made during the same period, commonly known as bride's baskets, which became extremely popular around the 1880s as a gift for a bride on her wedding day. Although, these type of silver baskets date to around the mid-nineteenth century, but by the late-1800s, companies began to produce silver plate baskets so they would appeal to a larger market at more affordable prices.

According to an article written by Phyllis Hoffman DePiano, The History of Brides Baskets, "Many companies produced silver-plated holders, and a glass insert, often hand painted, was chosen to compliment the stand. Highly favored as wedding gifts, the baskets were made by many illustrious manufacturers such as Pairpoint, Meriden, Reed & Barton, Rogers Bros., and Brittania. The bowls were made in almost every color, with crimped, ruffled, or fluted edges; cut-glass bowls became popular after 1890. It is noteworthy that the manufacturers did not call these brides baskets but cake or fruit baskets. The name brides basket is a more modern reference to these baskets. The brides basket went out of favor as the wedding gift in late-1905."

This basket may have been made in Pennsylvania, although I have not been able to find many late-nineteenth century examples of this form. It seems to have been a style more popular with some of the twentieth century potters in Pennsylvania, such as Lester Breininger (1935-2011).

Red Earthenware Basket Found in Central Pennsylvania

The New Oxford, PA Antiques Center
I Found this Basket in the Back of this Shop

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Possibly Late-19th Century American Red Earthenware Basket
Found in Central Pennsylvania

Measures 8 1/2" Wide

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Another View of the Basket

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Another View of the Basket

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Another View of the Basket

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