An Interesting Pair of Crocks and the Potters Who Worked in Charlestown, Mass. After the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775

On March 2, 2013, Crocker Farm, Inc., based in Sparks, Maryland, sold an important collection of mostly New England-made red earthenware. The collection was added in the final week as an addendum to the already impressive sale. I was told the collection was consigned from Vermont by the family of a long-time collector. The collection had been assembled decades ago - most of it dating back to the 1950s and the 1960s. The collection included eighteenth and nineteenth-century examples from southern Maine, Merrimacport, Massachusetts, western Massachusetts, coastal Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and elsewhere. Here is a link to the collection - see lot numbers 300A to 300Y.

I bid on a number of the lots in the sale - and I actually successfully purchased a handful of them that are now in my collection. I had asked a friend and mentor of mine, what he thought about lot number 300H; the auction house described it as an, "outstanding glazed redware jar, New England, possibly Massachusetts origin, late 18th or early 19th century, squat shaped jar of highly-ovoid form with rounded foot and ribbed strap handles. Exterior covered in a blackish lead-and-manganese glaze. Interior with gray-green glaze accented with iron flecks and light orange mottling. Excellent form. Wear to rim and handle. A few minor base chips. Height 7 1/4"." 

After reviewing the listing, my friend told me that he wasn't too sure where the crock was made, but he did say it reminded him of a stoneware form he had seen made by Frederick Carpenter's business in Charlestown, Massachusetts around the turn of the nineteenth-century. He told me that he had actually owned and sold this form before.

I ended up bidding on this crock and purchasing it for the opening bid. I assume there was no competition because no one really knew where it was made. They may not have known what to make of it. I took a chance based on the information I was given - and when I saw the crock in-person - I loved it!

About a month or so after purchasing the jar, I was studying in the Charlestown Archaeology Collection at the Boston Archaeology Department in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, when I came across a red earthenware sherd with the exact same interior glaze as the interior glaze on the jar I bought from Crocker Farm. I was stunned! As I've written many times before, the Charlestown red earthenware industry was destroyed at the Battle of Bunker on June 17, 1775; it was a successful industry providing many parts of New England for more than a hundred years. Sadly, every potter's business was burned to the ground. Afterwards, most potters left and never returned. They went to work elsewhere; however some did return. Virtually nothing is known about the potters that returned and reestablished their businesses today. Today we know that a stoneware industry flourished in Charlestown beginning in the 1790s and moving onward into the nineteenth-century, but red earthenware was still produced alongside the stoneware potters for a period of time. It's something that is overlooked today.

The sherd is from the Town Dock area of the Charlestown Archaeology Collection. It's important to note that the Town Dock area is also the area where the potters who returned to work after the Battle of Bunker Hill were located. I would like to believe this crock is a red earthenware product made after the Battle of the Bunker Hill in Charlestown. I've held the sherd up next to the interior glaze on the crock and they are virtually a perfect match. It's quite fascinating!

I also brought this crock with me to Dish Camp in 2013 when I presented some of my research on the Charlestown red earthenware potters and related areas before 1775.

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Crock Possibly Made in Charlestown, Ma

Ca. 1780-1810

Stands 7 1/4" Tall

The Sherd was Found in the Charlestown, Ma Archaeology Collection

The Sherd's Interior Glaze and the Glaze on the Interior of the Crock Are Nearly a Perfect Match

(Top Right) Ovoid Squat Form Made in Charlestown, Ma by Frederick Carpenter's Business
Stoneware Form is Similar to the Red Earthenware Crocks of Discussion in this Report
Ca. 1792-1810
Stands 10 3/4" Tall
Ex-Collection of Paul and Margaret Weld that Sold in 2000
Photo Courtesy: Skinner, Inc. - Boston and Marlborough, Ma

Coincidentally, I received a crock today that is identical to the black glazed crock above in form and size; however it is glazed in a beautiful, vibrant colorful glaze on the exterior with the exact same interior glaze as the sherd and the black glazed crock above. It was found in the antique fields in Brimfield, Massachusetts a few years ago and has since resided in North Carolina. When I first saw this crock this afternoon, I was stunned at its color. I can understand a black glazed product from the eighteenth-century, but something like this is what I would expect more from a nineteenth-century potter. Sherds don't lie, though. Its interesting because beginning here in New England in 1780/1790 is when potters begin to emerge in places like coastal Massachusetts, Merrimacport, Massachusetts and central New Hampshire. The use of colorful slip decoration began to fade away in this period and the use of vibrant glazes become more popular. Maybe this is an example of that happening in Charlestown!?

Interestingly, for those of you who know southeastern Massachusetts red earthenware; this glaze reminds me of some of the colorful glazes applied in southeastern Massachusetts near the Taunton River around the turn of the nineteenth-century up through 1820.

 Late 18th or Early 19th Century Crock Possibly Made in Charlestown, Ma

Ca. 1780-1810

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

Glaze Reminds Me of Colors Used in Southeastern Masssachusetts

 Another View of the Glaze

 View of the a Handle

 View of the Other Handle

View of the Interior Glaze

For a side-by-side comparison - here are both crocks together; I think this is all very-interesting!

 Both Crocks Side-by-Side

The Handles Are Basically Identical on Both Crocks

The Interior Glazes Match on Both Crocks

These are the only two red earthenware jars that survive today in this form that I know of.

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

Two Estate Sales in Two Days: From Stratham, New Hampshire to Cambridge, Massachusetts

I've been all-over the place the past few days; in this report, I am going to detail my account of two estate sales held in two completely separate environments. The homes couldn't be any further apart as well as accounting for both urban and country styles of living.

Yesterday, I visited an estate sale held at the Josiah Brown Farmer house built in circa 1816 in Stratham, New Hampshire. All of the contents inside of the home were for sale. There were some wonderful buys to be had! I am only going to show two of my purchases in this report because the rest are Christmas presents.

 Josiah Brown Farmer House - Stratham, NH

Built in Circa 1816

An Estate Sale was Held Here on Friday November 14th

 Another View of the House

 View of the House and the Attached Garage

View of the Barn

A local artist was the most recent occupant of the Josiah Brown Farmer house; his eclectic taste was evident with the variety of furnishings he kept throughout the house and the garage. A barn was also part of the Farmer property; however none of those contents were included in the sale. There were no surprises in this sale; the homeowner was present. It wasn't like some estate sales I go to, where the homeowner(s) had either passed away or had relocated to assisted living. The homeowner in this case was moving on, but he knew where everything was and what he had paid for it. It wasn't necessarily all properly identified either, but there were no surprises. When I go to estate sales, I often start in the basement, garage or barn to see what has been tucked away from possibly decades ago. There was none of that here, but there was still a lot of accessories to go through that had been collected locally over a number of years.

 Contents of the Garage

 Contents of the Garage

 Contents of the Garage

 Contents of the Garage

 Contents of the House

 Contents of the House

 Contents of the House

 Contents of the Kitchen

 Mostly Reference Books for Sale

 One of the Four Fire Places in the House

Contents of the House

 Another Fireplace

 Front Hallway and Staircase that Leads to the Second Floor

 Second Floor Hallway

One of the Three Bedrooms

I purchased two pieces of red earthenware from this house; both appear like they could be from local potters, who worked in the next town over in Exeter, New Hampshire in the nineteenth-century. 

The first is a miniature pitcher, which likely served a whimsical purpose unless it was used as a child's toy or in a doll house. I'm leaning more towards a whimsical purpose since the estate sale gave no indication it belonged to a doll's house.

The pitcher was hand-thrown. The glaze and clay color look appropriate for products made in southern New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Historical Society in Conncord, New Hampshire even owns a red earthenware jug with a similar glaze attributed to Exeter.

 19th Century Miniature Red Earthenware Pitcher

Possibly Made in Exeter, NH

Stands 1 1/4" Tall

Found in the Josiah Brown Farmer House in Stratham, NH

 View of the Handle

 View of the Base

 View of the Front

View of the Interior 

I also discovered a small painted red earthenware jar or vase that reminded me of a product the Exeter Historical Society owns made at the Lamson Pottery in the late nineteenth-century. The Lamson Pottery is a name strongly associated with the potter's industry that was employed in Exeter in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. The Lamson family made products as the market dictated; when the red earthenware industry was strong, they made red earthenware; when the stoneware market was strong, they also sold stoneware (it is believed that some of the stoneware sold in Exeter at the Lamson Pottery was contracted with a stoneware maker in New Jersey) and in the late nineteenth-century - they made a line of art ware due to the economic demands of the utilitarian red earthenware potter in New Hampshire. I believe the jar or vase I found in the Josiah Brown Farmer House is an example of the painted art ware made in Exeter after 1870.

 19th Century Painted Red Earthenwar Jar or Vase

Likely Made at the Lamson Pottery in Exeter, NH

Ca. 1870-1895

Measures 2 5/8" Tall

Found in the Josiah Brown Farmer House - Stratham, NH

 View of the Base

 View of the Interior

 Lamson Pottery Painted Red Earthenware Vase - Exeter, NH

Ca. 1870-1895

Photo Courtesy: Exeter Historical Society - Exeter, NH

View of the Lamson Pottery Paper Label on the Base

Photo Courtesy: Exeter Historical Society - Exeter, NH 

This morning, I attended my second estate sale in roughly twenty-four hours; this sale was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The home dates from the late nineteenth-century. The family's occupancy dates back to the 1940s. The family has always owned the building you are about to see and rented out a storefront on the first floor. Prior to the current tenants, the storefront has always had an antique shop located inside of it. Presently, a modern art gallery resides on the first floor.

 Late 19th Century Building in Camridge, Ma

Estate Sale was Held Here Today - Saturday November 15th

 Best Rate Cleanouts Estate Sale Sign

 View of the Modern Art Gallery on the First Floor

 Entrance to the Home

 Stairs that Lead to the Home and the Basement

 View of the Basement

Another View of the Basement

Like I previously indicated, when I attend an estate sale - I prefer to go to the basement (garage or barn) first because I feel my best bet for an undiscovered treasure may lay in places like that. I looked through the entire house and I didn't find much; however in the basement I found a few hidden treasures that the firm holding the estate sale didn't even see.

My first discovery happened when I found this pair of slip decorated red earthenware cups. I think these are absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen anything like them before. They appear to be a rarity. There are many characteristics going for them; 1) they are hand-thrown 2) the green slip 3) the green slip wash 4) the orange glazed interiors and 5) the clay color.

To begin, the clay color is exactly like I would expect to see from products made all-over Essex County and even into coastal southern New Hampshire. The clay color is actually a dead-on match for the products made at Charles A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Massachusetts after 1866. The orange glazed interior was used in places like the Southwick family pottery in South Danvers (today Peabody), Massachusetts in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries and even the Merrimac Pottery Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts in the late nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. It should also be considered that there were more businesses that used this characteristic in coastal Massachusetts (and even New Hampshire) than only the two I have mentioned. Finally, the green slip, which is spectacular in my opinion is a characteristic I have never seen before. These are two very interesting pieces! I do not have an attribution even though there are many obvious characteristics that lend themselves to a Massachusetts potter.

 Pair of Likely 19th Century Painted and Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Cups

Both Were Hand-Thrown by the Potter

Possibly a Massachusetts Potter

Found Today in the Basement at the Estate Sale in Cambridge

Both Measure 3 5/8" Tall

 View of the Bases

 View of Clay Color

 View of the Interior Glazes

 View of the Slip Decoration

 Another View of the Slip Decoration

The Clay Color Can Also be Seen in this Photo

I also found these two books in the basement; they are Volumes IV and V of Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companions. According to what I have read, "Gleasons Pictorial Drawing Room Companion was a 19th century illustrated periodical published in Boston. It was founded by Frederick Gleason in 1851 and by 1855, the publication had changed its name and its ownerships. The pictorial featured artists such as Winslow Home and a long list of prominent writers." None-the-less, I would call these books (or bound newspapers) very rare.

My initial reaction was, "These books are amazing!" I found them buried underneath a bunch of  boxes on the floor in the cellar. The prints in these books are stunning! There must be upwards of a hundred prints in each volume. I could see people cutting these prints out to either frame them individually or even dealers may sell them individually; although its amazing to see these two books still intact. I actually found a few websites online (one being rarenewspapers.com) that sell some of the prints individually, but there is no need to worry - the books are staying as-is with me.

I have photographed some sample prints below; imagine a few hundred black and white prints of this quality and caliber - that's what these books are filled with. I've done a little research and I've found that these books are a part of the inventory at the Boston Public Library as well as related institutions around the country. I think they are quite rare and really wonderful discoveries.

 Volumes IV and V Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companions (1853)

These Were Found Today in the Basement at the Estate Sale in Cambridge, Ma

Both Volumes are Complete

 President Pierce and Vice President King Prints

 Prints of Arctic Voyages

 Prints of Washington Street in Boston

 (Left) Print of all the Presidents

(Right) Print of President Pierce's Cabinet

 Print of the Battle of Bunker Hill

Large 2-Page Print of America's Independence 

Here's an example of the type of writing and drawing that was done; pictured below is a print of the American Flint Glass Works in South Boston with an article that was written on the subject. These two volumes are loaded with this type of content with writings and drawings from all-over New England, America and the world.

 Print of the American Flint Glass Works in South Boston, Ma

The Article that Accompanies the American Flint Glass Works Print

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