As I wrote in a post from last week, titled, William Pecker Listed as a Potter in Longworth's American Almanack, New York Register, and City Directory, 1805, "There has been speculation through the years where Pecker learned how to make stoneware; however, it seems that he trained in New York City in the early 1800s, alongside the Crolius family, the Remmey family, David Morgan and the famed free African-American potter Thomas Commeraw (ca. 1771-1823). This information is found published in a listing of potters in Longworth's American Almanack, New York Register, and City Directory, 1805."
I also learned from Long Island researcher and collector Chris Pickerell that he has found William Pecker listed in New York City Directories from the 1802-1807 period. Pecker's name and these directories are also noted in Brandt Zipp's book, Commeraw's Stoneware. Although, it is after he left New York City that Pecker began to produce stoneware in South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts sometime before he died, as a result of a kiln collapse in 1820.
Yesterday, I sought out each of these directories from the collection of the New York Public Library, and aside from Pecker being listed in each directory by name with the profession of "potter" - the street is also included in the directory. And even though each year a different street or address is listed, the most intriguing address by what is known today is perhaps Bayard Street, where Pecker is listed as working in Longworth's New York Directory, 1803/04. This appears to be notable because the Crolius family was operating a stoneware manufactory on Bayard Street about the same time that Pecker is listed.
According to information that was published in Crocker Farm's Fall 2023 catalog that accompanied a circa 1800 stoneware jar marked C. CROLIUS / BAYARD STREET / NEW-YORK: "This finely colored and decorated jar features the rarest early Manhattan maker's mark, used by Clarkson Crolius, Sr. at a second shop location on Bayard Street, separate from his more well-known Manhattan Wells location at Pot Baker's Hill. As discussed in Zipp's Commeraw's Stoneware, pp. 119, 274n5, while the first reference to Clarkson Crolius owning a Bayard Street shop is the 1814 edition of Longworth's City Directory, stylistically the few surviving "C. CROLIUS / BAYARD STREET" objects clearly belong to an earlier, probably late eighteenth century context. These pieces all fall in line beside what was apparently Crolius's earliest "Manhattan-Wells" mark, and it is possible that Clarkson Crolius was superintending the family's Bayard Street pottery (a pottery first referenced in an 1803 city directory) prior to taking over his own father's shop at the more well-known Manhattan Wells site."
Note: All of this information will be included in my forthcoming New Hampshire book, although in the meantime, see my fourth published book, titled, South Amesbury's Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery: https://historicbeverly.net/product/south-amesburys-red-earthenware-stoneware-production/.
Also see a feature story that I wrote for the April 23, 2023 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, William Pecker: A Massachusetts Red Earthenware & New York City Stoneware Potter: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/04/new-published-story-in-antiques-arts.html.
William Pecker Cited as a Pottery in Longworth's New York Directory From 1802-1807
