19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Pot from the John Bell Pottery Sells at Horst Auctions in Pennsylvania

Among the most accomplished glaze colors manufactured at the John Bell (1800-1880) Pottery in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania in the 1800s are the greens, which unquestionably rival any green glaze manufactured in America or Canada in the nineteenth century. The color green really is a special glaze to find on early pottery today.

In fact, of all the forms made at the Bell Pottery, it is the green glazed flowerpots that are included with the company's best known forms today, although there were other green glazed shapes manufactured, as well. It should also be taken into consideration that like the green glazes manufactured elsewhere in America, some of the greens produced in Waynesboro are much more vibrant than others, which is sometimes a result of how they were fired in the kiln. 

For instance, my new book, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod discusses green glazes in the beginning - I explain how this color was not a monopoly for any business, and among the objects illustrated is what I consider to be one of the most vibrant green glazed red earthenware flowerpots known from the Bell Pottery today. This flowerpot is shown beside other accomplished green glazes from Chicago, Ontario, Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, along with other areas.

Nevertheless, this good green glazed circa 1840 red earthenware handled pot stamped "J. BELL" sold over the weekend at Horst Auction in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The piece sold for $2,600.

For more information about the John Bell Pottery, I suggest a three-page story I wrote for the December 7, 2018 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, The Bell Pottery Collection At The Renfrew Museum In Waynesboro, Pa.

1) John Bell Story Page 1

2) John Bell Story Page 2

3) John Bell Story Page 3

19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Pot from the John Bell Pottery

19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Handled Pot

Made at the John Bell Pottery in Waynesboro, PA

Stamped "J. BELL"

Circa 1840

Stands 6 3/4" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Horst Auction

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Two 19th Century Moravian Earthenware Figural Bottles from North Carolina that Recently Sold

It's not everyday that Moravian pottery from North Carolina is found outside of a museum or major private collection. The best examples of this type of pottery can most likely be found in the Art Museums at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, as well as the William C. and Susan S. Mariner Gallery at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, along with the museum's exhibit of locally made objects. And among the most prized wares made by the Moravians in North Carolina are figural bottles in form of animals and other creatures 

According to the book, Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware, "Moravian potters in North Carolina made press-molded earthenware for more than one hundred twenty-five years. The range of forms documented by surviving objects, molds, and references in pottery inventories is far greater than that of any contemporary American ceramic tradition. From smoking pipes to stove tiles, the Moravian potters in Bethabara (historic area in Salem-Winston, North Carolina) and Salem, North Carolina expanded the production of press-molded earthenware to include figural bottles and castors, non-figural bottles, and toys. Rudolph Christ (1750-1833) can be credited for the successful production and marketing of press-molded figural wares during his tenure as master of pottery at Salem (1789-1821).

Of all the figural bottles produced in Salem, fish survive in the greatest number. Most are glazed green on the outside but examples decorated in tortoiseshell colors are known. Fish appear in the April 30, 1801 inventory of the Salem pottery valued at 1 shilling 6 pence each. Three sizes were available the following year, and by 1806 the pottery was producing four patterns - the number represented by surviving molds listed in the 1828 inventory."

Furthermore, according to MESDA, "Christ apprenticed under Gottfried Aust (1722-1788) in Salem. He established his own pottery in Bethabara in 1786 and worked there until 1789. He succeeded Aust as master potter in Salem from 1789 to 1821. The production of press-molded wares also continued through the tenure of John Holland, who apprenticed under Rudolph Christ and as noted in Moravian records, inherited molds used in Christ’s shop. Rudolph Christ retired in 1821 and John Holland took over as Salem’s third master potter. Although the pottery ceased to operate as a congregational business in 1829, production of press-molded wares continued in the shop of Holland and another Salem potter, Heinrich Schaffner until at least the middle of the nineteenth century."

Interestingly, the museum owns what I consider to be perhaps the most significant piece of Colonial American slipware in existence today - the actual slip decorated red earthenware store sign made by Aust that is dated 1773.

Nevertheless, both of these figurals recently sold, and while the squirrel did sustain some damage through the years, the glaze is spectacular and it is also possibly the most iconic form of all the Moravian figurals. In fact, this figural can be attributed to Salem, North Carolina, where a matching formed green glazed example is displayed at MESDA. Variations of squirrel formed bottles were produced in North Carolina in the 1800s. This bottle sold reasonably on eBay for $2,278.

The second figural is in the shape of a fish, and it sold in Skinner's American Furniture & Decorative Arts sale in Marlborough, Massachusetts on April 23, 2022. This object is also attributed to the press molded figural production in North Carolina selling for $9,375 including the buyer's premium.

Two 19th Century Moravian Earthenware Figural Bottles from North Carolina

19th Century Earthenware Figural Bottle in the Form of a Squirrel

Attributed to Salem, North Carolina

Attributed to Either Rudolph Christ or John Holland

Circa 1804-1829

Stands 8" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: eBay

Another View of the Squirrel Figural

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Photo Courtesy: eBay

19th Century Earthenware Figural Bottle in the Form of a Fish

Attributed to Winston, Salem, North Carolina

Circa 1800-1860

Measures 4" Long

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Photo Courtesy: Skinner

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

An Etruscan Shaped Red Earthenware Urn Made by an American Potter Recently Found in Columbia, Pennsylvania

While visiting Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania earlier this month, I checked out some of the antique shops in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is where I found this late nineteenth century painted red earthenware Etruscan revival formed vase with a lead glazed interior. The Victorian decoration was most likely added by an early owner, although it is well done, further embellishing the object. 

I have always been drawn to this type of Grecian production with American potters, seeing that it was a large part of my research with my first book, titled, The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence. In fact, I think this type of production may have been more widespread in the late 1800s than what is realized today with utilitarian potters from the Mid-Atlantic region right up through New England, circa 1872-1910.

Nonetheless, this pot is American made, but I am not sure whether it was made in the Mid Atlantic region or in New England. Although, I did ask the people in the shop if they knew anything about it's history; they said they did not other than it having been in a dealer's space for sometime.

An Etruscan Shaped Red Earthenware Urn Made by an American Potter

Bootleg Antiques in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

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Late 19th Century Etruscan Formed Red Earthenware Urn

Made by an American Potter Who Most Likely also Made Utilitarian Wares

Recently Found in Columbia, Lancaster County, PA

Circa 1875-1900

Stands 9 1/8" Tall

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Another View of the Urn

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View of the Lead Glazed Interior

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

My Five Volume New England Pottery Book Series Can Now Be Purchased As a Set

Just a FYI - aside from my most recent book that was just published by Historic Beverly in Massachusetts - my entire five volume New England pottery book series can now be purchased as a set for $100 plus shipping. See the link below for more information.

The set includes these titles --

1) The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence

2) The Moses B. Paige Company: The Last of the Peabody Potteries

3) The Dawn of Independence, the Death of an Industry: The Pottery of Charlestown, Massachusetts

4) South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery

5) A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod

Link to purchase books: https://historicbeverly.net/product/pottery-book-collection/

Note: I also have an exhibit catalog that I guest curated at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Mass., titled, Potters on the Merrimac: A Century of New England Ceramics, which is available on Amazon.

Link to purchase exhibit catalog: https://www.amazon.com/Potters-Merrimac-Century-England-Ceramics/dp/1694078531/ref=sr_1_1?crid=X7MG9LVQMI1B&keywords=potters+on+the+merrimac&qid=1652350411&s=books&sprefix=potters+on+the+merrimac%2Cstripbooks%2C54&sr=1-1

My Current Five Volume New England Pottery Book Series

(Left) A Catalog from an Exhibit I Guest Curated

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

An 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher that Recently Sold at Hap Moore's in York, Maine

This is another object that I just acquired that recently sold in Hap Moore's Saturday April 16, 2022 sale in York, Maine - this eighteenth or early nineteenth century handled red earthenware pitcher is attributed to the industry in South Danvers (Peabody after 1855), Massachusetts, and possibly made by the Osborn family. I was told the pot also retains a lengthy twentieth century history of ownership in York.

And while the pitcher appears like it dates from the early 1800s, I have always found that museum pieces and archaeological evidence shows that some New England production differed very little from the 1700s to the early 1800s, and this is an example of that. For instance, the last photo posted shows a related pitcher that was recovered by archaeologists in the twentieth century from a circa 1770 context on the property of the Narbonne House in Salem, Massachusetts.

For more information about the red earthenware industry in South Danvers and Peabody, I recommend a book I wrote that focuses on the area's later production, but also touches upon wares made in the area, as early as the 1730s, titled, The Moses B. Paige Company: The Last of the Peabody Potteries.

An 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Eighteenth or Early Nineteenth Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to the Industry in South Danvers (Peabody), Mass.

Circa 1770-1830

Stands 8 3/4" Tall

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View of the Handle

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18th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Peabody, Mass.

Recovered from a Circa 1770 Archaeological Context in Salem, Mass.

The Form is Related to the Other Pitcher Shown in this Post

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Photo Courtesy: National Park Service - Narbonne House

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

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Mug Recently Found in an Old House in Goshen, Connecticut

While walking around the antique shows this week in Brimfield, Massachusetts, I was surprised to find this mottled green glazed nineteenth century red earthenware mug; I asked the dealer if it came with any known history, and he said it did not, but it was just found in an old house in Goshen, Connecticut.

This small bit of information piqued my interest seeing that Hervey Brooks (1779-1873) operated a red earthenware business in Goshen in the 1800s. In fact, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and the Litchfield, Connecticut Historical Society have preserved a great deal of information related to Brooks' career, including his account books that reveal he was also a farmer, and many years he only fired his kiln once. Much of his later production was also devoted to the manufacture of drain pipe and chimney flues, among other unglazed and simple glazed wares. Overall, these type of wares like like mug are extremely rare to find from Brooks today, some of which are also decorated in slip.

Interestingly, the form of this mug closely matches the only other mug that I know about that survives from Brooks today; the other slightly smaller mug is owned by the Litchfield Historical Society, having descended in the Brooks family. Wares made by Hervey Brooks can also be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, among other art museums.

Nonetheless, this was a very good find and it will be included in my forthcoming book, A City on the River: The Early Red Earthenware of the Hartford, Connecticut Area.

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Mug Recently Found in an Old House in Goshen, CT

Early to Mid 19th Century Mottled Green Glazed Red Earthenware Mug

Probably Made at the Hervery Brooks Pottery in Goshen, CT

Recently Discovered in an Old House in Goshen, CT

Form is Similar to a Smaller Mug Made by Brooks in the Litchfield, CT Historical Society

Stands 6 3/8" Tall

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Another View of the Mug

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View of the Handle

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

My New Book Is Now Available For Online Orders

Now available to purchase online -- For those interested - here is the link to purchase my new 475-page book through Historic Beverly's online shop, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod. The cost of the book is $44 plus shipping, and it can also be purchased in-person by visiting the museum.

Link: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/

My New Book Is Now Available For Online Orders

My New Book is Now Available For Online Orders

A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod

See Article for More Information

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