The Bradford Family Potteries: Assessing Archaeological Artifacts and Red Earthenware Distribution in Early Massachusetts

The Bradford family of southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod will be featured in a chapter of Volume II of my forthcoming tenth book, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly, and Salem, Massachusetts. Their inclusion is prompted by archaeological artifacts recovered in South Danvers (Peabody), Massachusetts, which closely resemble archaeology from the Stephen Bradford Pottery site in Kingston, Massachusetts, currently housed at the Smithsonian Institution. While these South Danvers artifacts may ultimately prove to be the work of a local manufacturer, they raise compelling questions that will be explored in this chapter; because the Bradfords are documented as shipping their wares as far south as Cape Cod before 1820, it is entirely possible they distributed their production northward as well.

The multi-generational Bradford family enterprise began around 1750 on a Wapping Road farm in Kingston, where John Bradford (1732–1811) established a brick-making operation and a local red earthenware kiln. The workshop flourished between the 1780s and 1870s under the direction of his son, Stephen Bradford (1771–1837), and grandson, Stephen Jr. (1807–1866), who harvested local clay pits along the Jones River.

The family expanded its regional reach to Cape Cod in 1819 when Noah Bradford Jr. (1761–1841) relocated from Kingston to Barnstable, Massachusetts. After acquiring a site from Prince Nye (1781–1850), Noah operated a pottery there from 1819 until 1830. Significant archaeological evidence of this Cape Cod enterprise survives today, thanks to twentieth century salvage efforts by Brian Cullity, the former curator at Heritage Museums & Gardens. The following pictures compares some of these artifacts recovered by Cullity with objects that were either likely manufactured on Cape Cod or are otherwise linked to the Bradford family’s production in Massachusetts.

For more information -  see a five-page feature story I wrote for the May 2019 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled “The Bradford Family Potteries in Massachusetts.” This information was then published again in my fifth book, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/. 

Sherd from the Noah Bradford Jr. Pottery Site on Cape Cod Compared to an Existing Object

Recovered by Brian Cullity in the Late 20th Century

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A Closer View of the Comparison

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Sherd from the Noah Bradford Jr. Pottery Site on Cape Cod Compared to an Existing Object

Recovered by Brian Cullity in the Late 20th Century

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A Closer View of the Comparison

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Sherd from the Noah Bradford Jr. Pottery Site on Cape Cod Compared to an Existing Object

Recovered by Brian Cullity in the Late 20th Century

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Another View of the Comparison

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Sherd from the Noah Bradford Jr. Pottery Site on Cape Cod Compared to an Existing Object

Recovered by Brian Cullity in the Late 20th Century

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Another View of the Comparison

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Upcoming Talks & Events

I have a few more talks coming up later this year, starting next month in Western Massachusetts. I'll be speaking in the Berkshires alongside New York author Warren Broderick. Looking further ahead, Warren and I will also be teaming up in September 2027 for a talk at the Stoneware Collectors' event at the Bennington Museum in Vermont.

Event Next Month in Western Massachusetts

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Surfaced at Auction: Red Earthenware Creamer from the Matt King Collection

This rare creamer—a small, black-glazed red earthenware piece with slip decoration—recently surfaced in a group lot at Flying Pig Auctions in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. Sold earlier this year as part of the Matt King Collection, the pitcher appears to highlight a fascinating link between early American and British pottery. During the 1600s and 1700s, New England potters were deeply inspired by imported British slipware, frequently copying its shapes and styles. Structurally, this creamer closely mirrors historical wares produced in Charlestown, Massachusetts before 1775, as well as those found throughout Essex County before 1800.

18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Creamer

Probably Made in Coastal Massachusetts

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Another View of the Creamer

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

A View of the Handle

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

A View of the Foot and the Base

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

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A Historical Example of New England Red Earthenware: The Provenance, Exhibition, and Publication History of a Colonial Honey Pot

One of my all-time favorite pieces of colonial New England slip-decorated red earthenware will be featured in my forthcoming tenth book—a comprehensive, two-volume, 1,900-page work titled An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly, and Salem, Massachusetts. The handled pot (also referred to as a "honey pot") is set to be included in Chapter 1 of Volume I, a section largely dedicated to the Kettle family and early production in Salem Village dating as far back as 1687. Beyond its focus on the Kettles, this opening chapter expands outward to establish critical connections to other early pottery manufacturing sites across coastal Massachusetts, providing a broader regional context for the industry.

This exceptional honey pot was owned for decades by Roger Pheulpin of Gloucester, Massachusetts, though it previously sold in the Chris Huntington Sale in Maine in 1974 to Maine antiques dealer Ross Levett. It is now privately owned in New England.

Beyond its storied provenance, the pot has a fascinating history of publication and exhibition. It was prominently featured as item number 38 in a landmark decorative arts exhibition organized by the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Massachusetts, which ran from May 8 to October 23, 1994. Curated by Brian Cullity, the exhibition was accompanied by the official catalogue, A Cubberd, Four Joyne Stools & Other Smalle Thinges: The Material Culture of Plymouth Colony, which explored the regional craftsmanship and material history of Plymouth Colony, Cape Cod, and Nantucket (see below).

The catalog stated, "This is undoubtedly an early example of Massachusetts redware. It bears parallel incised lines circling the body in much the same manner as an early Essex County piece of redware illustrated in Early New England Potters and Their Wares (1950) and has a domed base. It has yellow slip spots with green splashes on an orange-brown body. The clay is a deep red color."

Late 17th or 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Honey Pot

Probably Made in the Danvers and Salem, Mass. Area

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Courtesy: Private Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Courtesy: Private Collection

A View of the Handle

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Courtesy: Private Collection

A View of the "Domed" Base

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Courtesy: Private Collection

Material Culture Museum Exhibit from 1994

Curated by Brian Cullity at the Heritage Museum on Cape Cod

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Here is the Pot Illustrated in the Exhibit Catalog

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Perhaps Connecting an Early New England Colander with a British Example

At New Hampshire Antiques Week, a friend acquired a fascinating eighteenth century British slip-decorated earthenware colander from Massachusetts dealers Eliot and Grace Snyder. The piece, featuring three feet and a dish-like form, is notably dated and inscribed with initials. This object immediately caught my attention because it slightly resembles a peculiar slip-decorated red earthenware colander held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gifted to the museum in 1956 by Miss Elizabeth Tuck (1881-1968), that particular piece was reportedly made in eighteenth century Massachusetts, though its maker remains unknown. It is also the only eighteenth century colander that I have seen from New England.

This resemblance highlights a fascinating link between early American and British pottery. In the 1600s and 1700s, New England potters were deeply inspired by imported British slip decorated earthenware, often copying shapes and styles. Because decorated colanders with three feet were rare and perhaps made as special orders, seeing these two pieces together is highly unusual. The connection between them leaves a possible mystery: did the anonymous Massachusetts potter directly copy a British import, or did they simply share a common design history? Either way, the two objects likely show how British styles traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to shape some early Massachusetts red earthenware.

(Left) 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Colander 

Reportedly Made in Massachusetts

The Colander was Gifted to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1956

Measures 14" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

(Right) 18th Century British Slip Decorated Earthenware Colander

The Colander Has Three Feet Attached to the Back

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Photo Courtesy: Eliot and Grace Snyder

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Rare Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Household Wares

These are some excellent early examples of slip-decorated red earthenware. They will be featured in my tenth book, a 1,900-page, two-volume work titled An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly, and Salem, Massachusetts. While most of these pieces reside in private collections—including several formerly owned by Roger Pheulpin of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Chris Huntington of Maine and another by George McKearin of New York City—some were previously exhibited in the early 1990s at the Heritage Museum on Cape Cod, which was curated by Brian Cullity.

Probably All 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Pots

The Form is Typically Called a "Honey Pot"

It was a Popular British Form; Staffordshire, England, etc.

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Photo Courtesy: Various Museum and Private Collections

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From the Matt King Collection: A Rare Danvers-Salem, Mass. Red Earthenware Bowl Surfaces in New Hampshire

A notable eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century slip-decorated red earthenware bowl recently surfaced in the Matt King Collection, selling tonight during the ongoing auction at Flying Pig Auctions in Westmoreland, New Hampshire.

Attributed to the Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts region, the bowl features swirled slip motifs that mirror local archaeological recoveries from Danvers, Ipswich, Marblehead, and Salem, as well as early European designs. Personally, I suspect it may have been made by the Symonds family of Salem (1750–1830)—a lineage best known today for their seventeenth-century furniture shop. While further research is needed to prove they manufactured this exact design, there is no question that this style was produced locally.

Strikingly, the pattern also echoes the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century cobalt decorations used on stoneware in parts of New Jersey, New York City, the Hudson River Valley, and southern Connecticut. This exceptional bowl will be included alongside local archaeology in my forthcoming tenth book, a two-volume, 1,900-page work: An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly, and Salem, Massachusetts.

18th or Early 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Bowl

Matches Archaeology from the Danvers and Salem, Mass. Area

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Another View of the Bowl

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Another View of the Bowl

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Another View of the Bowl

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Another View of the Bowl

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Courtesy: Matt King Collection

Some of the Cited Archaeological Evidence

This and More Evidence Will Be Included in My New Book!

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