Coming in the Winter of 2026 - An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts

Coming in the winter of 2026! My tenth book, two-volumes, 1,660-pages, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts.

Volume I - 753 Pages

Back Cover Information: The Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts area has a deep-rooted history, dating back to the seventeenth century, perhaps best-known today for the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and Salem’s maritime trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. However, the area was also the location of one of New England’s most important red earthenware industries, dating back to the 1600s. The area’s pottery businesses were also intertwined with red earthenware production in Charlestown, Massachusetts before the American Revolution, and the industry in Bristol County, Massachusetts, as well as other parts of New England. This book is the first of its kind to explore the red earthenware produced in this part of coastal Massachusetts through archaeology, historical records and surviving objects.

Volume II - 907 Pages

Back Cover Information: The Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts area has a rich history of Quakers, many of whom were intertwined with local red earthenware production, as well as Quaker potters living elsewhere in New England. The early history of these Quakers is marked by persecution, although it took a long time, but they were eventually met with acceptance. This area was also home to some potters in Salem after 1750, as well as migrants, who influenced local production from France, Germany, Italy and Portugal. This book is the first of its kind to explore the red earthenware produced in this part of coastal Massachusetts through archaeology, historical records and surviving objects.

Front and Back Cover Photos for the Two Volumes of the New Book

See Article for More Information

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

17th Century Spanish Earthenware Storage Jars with Examples Found in Charlestown and Newburyport, Mass.

Earlier this year, I learned from an Instagram post made by Joaquin Montes Fernandez, a speciality ceramics dealer in Spain about a style of seventeenth century painted earthenware storage jar made in Triana, Spain. Two the jars posted were painted green, while the third was not painted; these types of jars were made from both white and red earthenware. 

The reason this piqued my interest is because I own a related storage jar with original green paint, which came out of a Federal Period house in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The history of the jar dates back with the family to at least the early 1800s. I suspect it was imported into America, although I do not know the history of it in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.

This type of jar has also been recovered from various archaeological contexts in the American colonies, including an example that was not painted, which was recovered by archaeologists from the circa 1638-1658 James Garrett House site in Charlestown, Massachusetts in the 1980s. Garrett was a wealthy merchant who moved from England to Maudlin Street in Charlestown in 1635 (right across the street from the U.S.S. Constitution today) to escape the conflicts of the English Civil War. He lived on the property with his family until leaving to return to England in 1656, selling his land and house to Samuel Beadle. Nonetheless, I suspect the jar I own retains a similar history in the New England colonies, although it is currently undocumented.

Note: For more information about Garrett - see my third book, titled, The Dawn of Independence, the Death of an Industry: The Pottery of Charlestown, Massachusetts: https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-dawn-of-independence-the-death-of-an-industry/.

17th Century Spanish Earthenware Storage Jars from Spain

17th Century Painted Earthenware Storage Jars Made in Triana, Spain

The Green Paint is Original to Production

These Types of Jars were Imported to the American Colonies

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Joaquin Montes Fernandez

17th Century Painted Red Earthenware Storage Jar from Spain

The Green Paint is Original to Production

Very Similar to the Examples Made in Triana, Spain

Retains a Lengthy History of Ownership with a Family in Newburyport, Mass.

Related Jar Recovered from a 17th Century Context in Charlestown, Mass.

See Article for More Information

 17th Century Red Earthenware Storage Jar from Spain

Uncovered at the James Garrett Site in Charlestown, Mass.

Circa 1638-1658 Archaeological Context

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

Another View of the Jar

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: City of Boston Archaeology Program

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

A Late 18th or Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bottle or Flask

This is a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century slip decorated red earthenware bottle or flask that recently sold on eBay, which piqued my interest, although I don't know the manufacturer or the area it was made. The rounded foot is a type found with early production along coastal Massachusetts and with the Clark family in New Hampshire, etc. - https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.

However, the bottle or flask was sold out of Virginia, and this type of footed base was also produced in places like southeastern Pennsylvania so I'm not sure where it originated. But it is an early object that I thought was rather appealing.

It sold very reasonably; $220.50.

Note: This type of foot produced in New England will also be included in my forthcoming two-volume, 1,404-page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts.

Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bottle or Flask

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bottle or Flask

Stands 5 1/4" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: eBay

A View of the Rounded Foot at the Base

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: eBay

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

19th Century Red Earthenware from Hagerstown, Maryland, Nathaniel Rochester's Western New York Business and the Index of American Design, Etc.

For anyone who has never checked it out before - the online database of the Index of American Design is a noteworthy resource displaying thousands of works of art painted for the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s and early 1940s. By definition: the Index of American Design was a Depression-era WPA Federal Art Project (1936-1942) that employed artists to create over 18,000 detailed watercolor illustrations of American folk and decorative arts objects, from colonial times through 1900, to document the nation's design heritage, now housed at the National Gallery of Art as a visual archive of American material culture.

This is a database that I always reference for all of the books that I have written, which was the case last week for my forthcoming two-volume, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts. 

Nonetheless, while scrolling through the images of the works of art - I came across this watercolor of a nineteenth century multi-color slip decorated red earthenware pitcher. It was painted by Eugene Shellady in 1936. There is no accompanying information, although the pitcher closely resembles some types associated with the early potters in Hagerstown, Maryland. For instance, a very similar pitcher sold at Crocker Farm in Maryland in 2019 adorned with a very similar slip technique: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2019-10-26/lot-153/Very-Rare-Early-Hagerstown-Redware-Pitcher-possibly-Peter-Bell-or-John-Bell/.

Interestingly, it is documented that Nathaniel Rochester's (1752-1831) circa 1818-1831 red earthenware business in West Bloomfield, New York shares some characteristics with slip techniques manufactured in Hagerstown. The potter or potters who worked for Rochester has never been identified, but he did come from Hagerstown so the transition of Hagerstown type wares migrating north is certainly feasible. 

Nonetheless, for more information - see my recently published two-volume, ninth book, titled, America's Great Awakening and Migration: The Red Earthenware of Western New York: https://historicbeverly.net/product/americas-great-awakening-and-migration-the-red-earthenware-of-western-new-york/.

Note: I also wrote a feature story for the June 7, 2024 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, Nathaniel Rochester's Red Earthenware Pottery: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/05/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques.html.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers Likely from Hagerstown, Maryland

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pitcher

Painted by Eugene Shellady for the Index of American Design in 1936

Likely Made in Hagerstown, Maryland

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pitcher

Likely Made in Hagerstown, Maryland

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Handled Pot Made in Western New York

Made at the Nathaniel Rochester Pottery in West Bloomfield, New York

Cica 1818-1831

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Personal Collection of Nancy and Gene Pratt

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

Some South Carolina Pottery Stories that are in the National News

Two subjects that are in the national news right now....

1) The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has returned stoneware made by the enslaved Edgefield, South Carolina potter Dave Drake (ca. 1800-1873) to his heirs, where I suspect this partially stemmed from the recent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the MFA, titled, "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Edgefield, South Carolina."

Quick story I was at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. a few years ago working on a book and the curator told me that some of Dave's heirs visited the museum and they began to cry because it was so emotional for them to see and touch his work.

2) The McKissick Museum is closing at the University of South Carolina, which was the subject of a cover story I wrote, titled, "Thomas Chandler's Pottery Production: McKissick Museum Of The University Of South Carolina Holds Innovative Exhibition.

Nonetheless, in Volume II of my forthcoming two-volume, nearly 1,400 page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts, there are two sections at the end that identify southern pottery from the 1800s and early 1900s found in early contexts in the north, including a face jug from Edgefield owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, etc. Also shown is a stoneware jug that I found with my niece a few years ago in Boston, which may have ties to Dave Drake early production in Edgefield, marked with an inscribed "X" or a cross.

Note: Here are two articles that I posted to this website about the Hear Me Now exhibit when it was displayed in New York City and Boston:

MET Article: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2022/12/now-on-display-at-met-in-new-york-city.html

MFA, Boston Article: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/03/now-on-display-at-mfa-boston-hear-me.html

Here is also an article about the exhibit at the McKissick Museum: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2019/07/swag-and-tassel-innovative-stoneware-of.html

Some Info About South Carolina Pottery

My Niece Alexis Holding an Early Edgefield, South Carolina Stoneware Jug Found in Boston

Possibly Related to Dave Drake's Production

Marked with an "X" or a Cross

See Article for More Information

Another View of the Jug

See Article for More Information

My Nephew at the McKissick Museum in 2019

See Article for More Information

Feature Story Written About the McKissick Museum Exhibit in 2019

See Article for More Information

Feature Story Written About the McKissick Museum Exhibit in 2019

See Article for More Information

Feature Story Written About the McKissick Museum Exhibit in 2019

See Article for More Information

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

New Published Feature Story in Antiques And The Arts Weekly - The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.

This is the print version of my latest feature story published on page 10 in the current December 12, 2025 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.

Here is a link to a PDF of the story: https://www.scribd.com/document/960901137/1212-D-010-ANA-Southwick

New Published Feature Story in Antiques And The Arts Weekly

The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.

Published on Page 10 in the Dec. 12, 2025 Issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.

Published on Page 10 in the Dec. 12, 2025 Issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

The Southwick Family Of Potters Of Salem & South Danvers, Mass.

Published on Page 10 in the Dec. 12, 2025 Issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

This is the Dec. 12, 2025 Issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

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

An 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl Owned by the Historic Ephrata Cloister in Pennsylvania

This is a red earthenware bowl that I recently came across owned by the Historic Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is described by the museum and historic site as having been made in the late eighteenth century, where it is also stated as being original to the Cloister because the bowl was present when the Cloister was acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1941.

The manufacturer is not identified, but the community was established in 1732 by the German immigrant and religious leader Johann Conrad Beissel (1691-1768), as a Protestant monastic spiritual center, known for its distinct Germanic architecture, vibrant music, illuminated manuscripts (Fraktur), and printing press producing religious works. The community sharply declined after Beissel's death in 1768.

Nonetheless, there is no indication that this bowl was made by a potter working at the Ephrata Cloister, but the idea of it reminds me of forty nineteenth century slip decorated red earthenware bowls that were made at the John Bell (1800-1880) Pottery in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Those bowls were made for the Snow Hill Nunnery in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and used for serving stew during the Society’s love feast. The love feasts were held regularly by the community throughout its existence, from its founding in 1798 until the death of the last celibate member in 1895. All of the bowls were then auctioned off by Horst Auction Company in Pennsylvania in August 1997: https://oldehope.com/antique-glazed-redware-bowl/.

Note: For more information about the John Bell Pottery - see a three-page cover story I wrote for the December 7, 2018 issue of Antiques and Auction News, titled, The Bell Pottery Collection At The Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro, Pa. - http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2018/12/feature-story-published-in-antiques-and.html.

An 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl

Late 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl

Owned by the Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster, PA

Measures 11 3/4" in Diameter

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Historic Ephrata Cloister

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