An Incredible Find in Manchester, New Hampshire Earlier Today

I know I have already posted a report for today, but I would like to tell this short story while it is still fresh in mind. Earlier today, I went out picking for pottery in New Hampshire. My goal was to drive north hitting up shops all along the way until I made it to the Laconia, New Hampshire Antiques Center and then turn around and come home. I did pretty well, too. I found a few real nice pieces in shops in Rochester, New Hampshire that I will write about in the coming days - and I also found an unmarked example of blue decorated art pottery made in Marblehead, Massachusetts for only ten-bucks in Laconia; however, when I punched in my home destination (Newburyport, Mass.) in my GPS in Laconia - I was brought home a different route than I had originally traveled from. Instead, on the way home I was going to drive past Concord, New Hampshire and Manchester,  New Hampshire on Route 93. Neither of these cities have high-end antique shops - rather, more like collectible shops. I have never found anything of significance in any of the shops in these cities; however, you never know what you might come across if you don't look.

I didn't find anything in Concord, but I was shocked with what I found in Manchester. As it started to snow this evening - I stopped into a shop called, Antiques on Elm near the downtown part of the city. I've walked into this shop a number of times in the past and sometimes I see the same inventory still laying around from my previous visits, but there are also active dealers, too. I've never really found anything significant, though. Overall, its a nice decorative-type shop.

I walked down the first aisle and I didn't see anything that caught my attention; however, when I turned the corner for the next aisle - I was absolutely stunned with what I saw. I was shocked! In plain sight sat a Thomas Truxton Kendrick red earthenware lidded jar with the word STARCH stenciled in slip. This jar was likely hand-thrown by Kendrick in Hollis Maine around 1840 or-so. The jar sat there peering back at me in remarkable condition. I still cannot believe this jar sat in this shop undocumented other than just a piece of pottery. Finding this jar where I did today is as unlikely as it gets. It's definitely a story worth telling. I personally only know of five jars like this made by Kendrick with a word stenciled in slip on the front. Kendrick is a potter, who is highly sought after today by collectors and museums - and this form is arguably the most desired shape from Kendrick's output. It's a really refined product not usually seen from a country potter in New England. The jar I found today now marks six examples that I know of. I only know of nine jars in-all in this form, which includes the six jars I just mentioned. The others reside in prominent private collections and in the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine. Absolutely incredible! What a find! I didn't want to put the jar down in the store or leave it at the front counter while I continued to look. I was afraid that something may happen to it if I did so - I didn't even bother to ask the women working in the shop if they knew where the jar may have come from or where it was found. When I came across it in the shop, it was mixed in with the kind of material that I would see at a decent thrift short. This is why the hunt is so much fun - because sometimes it does pay-off.

 Antiques on Elm - Manchester, NH

 Thomas Truxton Kendrick Red Earthenware Jar - Hollis, Me

This is How it Sat in the Store When I Found It

 Thomas Truxton Kendrick Red Earthenware Jar - Hollis, Me

This is How it Sat in the Store When I Found It

Ironically, Kendrick has been a subject of a number of reports in recent weeks; if you use the search feature on the homepage to this website you can read more about him. Here are some better pictures of the jar taken in my house. I'm thrilled to have it as part of my collection!!! These jars are so rare today that I never thought I would own one.

 Very-Rare Thomas Truxton Kendrick Hand-Thrown Lidded Red Earthenware Jar - Hollis, Me

The Word STARCH Has Been Stenciled on the Front with Slip

Ca. 1820-1860

Stands 5 1/2" Tall

 View of the Back

 View of the Lid

View of the Base

There will be more about this trip soon enough!

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

Dave Drake: An Important Stoneware Potter, Artist and Poet from Edgefield, South Carolina

A few weeks ago, I wrote a short story about how I first became interested in early-American-made utilitarian pottery. I did not realize it at the time, but my passion really began in the summer of 1999 when my father brought home an early-black-glazed red earthenware jug from a local flea market that I believe was made in Essex County, Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth century. 

Nevertheless, I was a regular collector and researcher by 2006 with an interest in locally produced red earthenware at businesses such as the William Pecker Pottery in Merrimacport, Massachusetts, circa 1790-1820, the Chase Pottery in Merrimacport, circa 1820-1880s and the Bayley Pottery in Rowely, Massachusetts and Newburyport, Massachusetts, circa 1720-1799; although, I was also equally fascinated by the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century industry in Peabody, Massachusetts, circa 1735-1930s.

But it was not only that black jug that piqued my interest; whereas, I was also fascinated with a huge pot that I learned about at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I recall curiously walking through the rooms at the museum when I was introduced to the work of Dave Drake, an African-American slave potter, who made stoneware in the nineteenth century in Edgefield, South Carolina. The jar that I saw that day was huge, but it was also inscribed with a poem that Dave had written, "I made this Jar for cash / though its called lucra trash / Dave."  The jar was also dated "August 22, 1857."

Artist Rendering of Dake Drake

Artist Rendering of Dave "The Potter" Drake

Photo Courtesy: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave - Hill & Collier - Little Brown Books - 2010

The Story of Dave Drake

The history of Dave Drake is compelling: he was born into slavery in 1800 in the Edgefield District in South Carolina; although, he is thought to have been born to the plantation owner, Harry Drake, a religious man, who may have taught some of his slaves to read and write to help with their religious studies. There is also some evidence that suggests Dave may have lost a leg in an accident in his younger years, but I do not have evidence to prove this other than reading about it. 

Dave reportedly learned the potter's trade at a young age from white men of European descent employed where he lived as a slave in South Carolina. His original poems were usually related to the vessel's use, religion or a family member. Examples of Dave's unsigned work are sometimes attributed to him today by either the "Lm" mark or two incised slashes sometimes placed carefully unobtrusively on the pot

I would describe Dave as a master potter, who occasionally threw huge vessels, which were intended to hold gallons of material not regularly found in this size from potter's, who worked elsewhere in America in the nineteenth century. The skill and raw strength it took to throw some of these forms is remarkable; whereas, Dave can even be considered today as the kind of person who's life manifested into folk lore and legend. 

In a historical context, Dave was an educated enslaved potter, who could read and write, but he was also an artist and a poet in a tumultuous period laying witness to America's Civil War and I can only imagine that some of Dave's work must have been destroyed during the war. 

I have heard stories from well-known antique dealers that Dave's production has been found in places like southern backyards, but I have also heard about his pots found in recent years that were used as garden planters and even on porches.

Note: I have also visited the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., where I was also impressed by a few examples of stoneware that were made by Dave, which are owned by the museum today. I have also posted a picture of a second jar that is owned by the MFA in Boston, which interestingly was made only one month after the jar that I originally saw at the museum, "September 22, 1857."

Jar that I Saw at the MFA in Boston

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed and Dated by Dave Drake
Acquired in 1997 from Collector Tony L. Shank - Marion, SC

Circa August 22, 1857

Stands 19" Tall

Measures 17 3/4" Wide

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another Jar Owned by MFA in Boston

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Signed and Dated by Dave Drake
Circa September 22, 1857

Stands 14" Tall

Measures 15" Wide

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Jars Owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed by Dave Drake
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed by Dave Drake
Circa 1862
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

View of the Information on File with the Smithsonian

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

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

A Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar that Appeared at a Devin Moisan Auction in Dover, New Hampshire Last Week

Last Thursday, I went to a sale held by New Hampshire auctioneer, Devin Moisan at the Elks Club Hall in Dover, New Hampshire. I found out about the auction the morning of the sale - and I drove north to New Hampshire after my work day had wrapped up at NECN in Newton, Massachusetts (west of Boston). While driving north, I took a brief detour off Route 95 to my house in Newburyport, Massachusetts - and after about an hour - I made the thirty-mile drive north to Dover arriving just in-time for the 5:00 pm auction to begin. 

The reason for my interest in the sale was an interesting slip decorated canister that at the time - I knew nothing about; however, it appeared eighteenth-century to me so I figured it would be a piece that I may want to add to my collection. The sale also featured a few examples of art pottery, a nineteenth-century redware jug likely made in Connecticut (sold for $300 without premium), a nineteenth-century redware flask likely made in Connecticut (sold for $225 without premium), a group of utilitarian red earthenware from various American makers and an under-fired nineteenth-century stoneware jar with cobalt decoration made by Salomon Bell's company in Strasburg, Virginia (sold for $300 without premium).

Elks Club Hall - Dover, NH 

Devin Moisan Held an Auction Here on Thursday February 11, 2015

It was an Eclectic Sale that Offered a Variety of Products Mostly from Local Homes

Devin Moisan Auction - Dover, NH

 Devin Moisan Auction - Dover, NH

 Devin Moisan Auction - Dover, NH

 Devin Moisan Auction - Dover, NH

Honestly, I guess I got a little ahead of myself because I thought I was going to get the following jar so I didn't photograph it at the auction; however, I was mistaken. Ultimately, the canister sold for $1,550 plus the auction premium. Since I was not positive on the maker or even the place or the country it was made in - I thought that was too much money to gamble on. 

There has been some debate in recent days over the origin of this jar. Most people feel it is American-made, but there have been some who have suggested that it may be an English product, too. I personally handled this piece for a few moments at the auction preview and I even looked at it under a bright light; the following photo does not really capture the personality that this jar portrays in-person. It was advertised as a New England-made piece, but I do not believe it was made in New England. My initial reaction when I picked it up was that it may have been a product made in Pennsylvania in the late-eighteenth-century due to the color of the clay, the refinement of the canister and the fluid-like glaze. The color of the slip is also what I expect to see on many of the slip decorated wares commonly produced in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. I think there are arguments that can be made for a number of potters who worked in a number of places that are not limited to just Pennsylvania (or maybe even America).

A friend of mine, who has owned a similar jar before pointed out to me that this canister likely had a lid at one-time and it was also likely used for tobacco. I hadn't considered that use, but it certainly makes sense. 

I was surprised! The jar sold in a country auction that was held last Thursday during one of the many recent snow storms in New England - and it was also not a piece that was advertised in print or online. I was surprised that it would garner such attention. There was bidding on the auction room floor and there were also phone bidders. The canister ultimately went to a phone bidder. From what I have been told - this was actually a good price for this piece since similar products have garnered much larger prices in years past. While I do not have an exact attribution - I do believe the jar was possibly made by an urban-based potter rather than a country potter because of the skill shown in the production. I was told it came from a New England consignor. It's possible that this jar will emerge again in the coming months displayed in one of the many dealer's booths who exhibit as part of the national antiques show circuit. Regardless - it is a wonderful piece of red earthenware no matter the maker that I really feel was made in the late-eighteenth-century.

Large Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar Likely Used for Tobacco

Origin Not Completely Understood: Could be American. Could be English.

Approximately 10" Tall

Possibly Dates from the 18th Century
Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

Here are photos of a few of the other items that were offered at the sale that also caught my attention. I only stayed for the first fifty-five lots (the canister was lot number 55) and from what I could see - everything was bringing strong prices.

Very Nice 19th Century American-Made Fraktur 

Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

(Top Left) Very Rare 19th Century Earthenware Hampshire Pottery Tankard - Keene, NH

(Right) Late 19th or 20th Century Rookwood Earthenware Vase - Cincinnati, Oh 

Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

19th Century Miniature Pine Chest of Drawers

 Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

Mounted Exotic Animal Heads
Not My Taste, But Also Not Something I Usually See at the Auctions I Go To

Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

Wonderful 18th or 19th Century Tin Double Wall Sconce 

Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

Probably Early 19th Century Painted American-Made Trunk

 Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

Utilitarian Red Earthenware Offered as a Single Lot

Multiple Potters and Regions are Represented

Photo Courtesy: Devin Moisan Auctions - Dover, NH

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

A Very Interesting Sewer Tile Vase Discovered in Haverhill, Massachusetts Yesterday that was Likely Signed by its Maker

Surprisingly, the city  of Haverhill, Massachusetts has a number of antique and collectible shops that I sometimes visit in search of previously undiscovered treasures. Before yet another major snowstorm  collided with us here in New England - I decided to make a quick trip west from my home in Newburyport, Massachusetts to Haverhill yesterday. I write from time-to-time and I really do mean it that being, "You never know what you may find if you don't look" - and that's the theory behind many of my trips. Plus, it's also just fun to get out there and look!

Haverhill is a short drive from Newburyport that is only about fifteen-miles away. The drive took me along the Merrimac River through West Newbury and Groveland before I arrived at a newly built bridge which took me across the Merrimac River into Haverhill.  Most of the antique shops in Haverhill are either in the downtown area (or in its vicinity) or near old brick buildings that were built during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800's. In the past, I have found some wonderful pieces picking my way through the city, but there are also times when I don't find a thing. Like I said, I never know what I might come across until I actually get out there and look.

 Downtown Haverhill, Mass.

 Downtown Haverhill, Mass.

 Vintage View Antiques Consignment Emporium - Haverhill, Mass.

 Vintage View Antiques Consignment Emporium - Haverhill, Mass.

 Vintage View Antiques Consignment Emporium - Haverhill, Mass.

 River Street Antiques - Haverhill, Mass.

 Paul Martin Antiques - Haverhill, Mass.

 In A Blue Moon Antiques and Collectibles - Haverhill, Mass.

 In A Blue Moon Antiques and Collectibles - Haverhill, Mass.

 Uncle Eddie's Needful Things Pawn Shop and Antiques - Haverhill, Mass.

Uncle Eddie's Needful Things Pawn Shop and Antiques - Haverhill, Mass.

Before I go any further with this report - I want to say that I do not condone the type of behavior that you are about to read, but its idea may be pertinent to this report. Former President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1908) is known by most people today for his term as President of the United States; however, he was also widely known during the period as a world-class hunter and adventurer. Roosevelt is also famous today for hunting expeditions that took him to parts of Africa and the Amazon River region. At the time - he turned many of his prized animals into household furnishings. For example, the feet of the elephant's he hunted became famous for trash barrels and umbrella stands. I personally feel that it is a tragedy that elephants were hunted for merely game and what ultimately happened next, but this was apart of the times when world exploration became fashionable throughout America in the late-1800's into the twentieth-century. Potters like Charles A. Lawrence in Beverly, Massachusetts and elsewhere in places like the Huntington Pottery on Long Island took notice of this new interest in worldly places and exotic animals - and they decorated some of their products with figures of exotic animals that may have been painted, drawn, stamped or even placed in relief on some of their finer more formal wares. These are very-rare products today. I actually believe that C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly may have contributed to catering to this new fashion more than any other American potter's business in the late-nineteenth-century. 

The following vase was originally discovered during a house clean-out in Connecticut last year before I purchased it from an antique dealer looking to unload a truck load of inventory at one of the shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts in May of 2014. The vase is in pristine condition. It is completely hand-thrown and hand-painted. I also believe it was likely made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly in either the 1880's or the 1890's. I remember showing this vase to scholar and redware collector, Roger Pheulpin of Gloucester, Massachusetts immediately after purchasing it and he said, "It's an elephant foot vase!" The vase is a rare example modeled after the type of exotic game that was hunted by world travelers. It's just a fascinating piece knowing where the company's inspiration developed from even though it was at the expense of an unfortunate animal.

 Late 19th Century Hand-Thrown Painted Red Earthenware "Elephant's Foot" Vase

Likely Made at the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

Ca. 1880's or 1890's

Stands 9 7/8" Tall

Originally Discovered in a House in Connecticut

I Discovered Last Year at a Show in Brimfield, Mass.

View of the Interior

Yesterday, while picking my way through the shops in Haverhill - I discovered the following hand-thrown thickly-potted sewer tile vase that may be another example of a form inspired after an elephant's foot; however, it may also be just a coincidence and the form is just how a particular person made a vase. 

The vase was buried in the back of a shop in a small dealer's space on the floor. I was really set back by the beauty of the glaze. A lot of the sewer tile products I have seen are not traditionally decorated this way.

Sewer tile made products is an interesting topic to understand today - there are many survivors and they were often made at companies in places like Ohio and England that actually specialized in actual sewer tile and sewer pipe. Workers at these businesses would often make whimsical pieces or forms that served a novelty or utilitarian purpose during their lunch break or at the end of the day in the late-nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. The piece that I discovered likely served a decorative need since it is in the form of a vase. It may have even been made for a special occasion - and when it was brought home there may have been a bouquet of flowers inside of it. I have seen many examples of sewer tile products before; however, this is the first time that I have ever seen a vase. I love the glaze! What makes this piece possibly even more significant is the fact the base is signed, "M.J.D. 12-4" 

The inscription really got me thinking when I was in the store; I assume M.J.D. are the initials of the maker, but there are other theories of what it could also stand for (they're most likely from the maker); however, the numbers are what fascinated me the most. I assume they represent a date. Could they stand for December 1904? Possibly, but I think it is more likely they stand for December 4th. As I continued to ponder the ideas that popped into my head and my interpretation of this piece - it struck me. Could this vase have been made as a Christmas present? If that's the case - this is a remarkable example of sewer tile with a personal connection to a sewer tile company worker, another person, a family and so much more! There could have been a great-deal of sentimental value owned by this vase at one time.

An attribution is very-difficult with this piece (I do believe it is American-made), but sewer tile with a red clay body was a major product manufactured in Portland, Maine in the late-1800's. Worker's actually often transformed some of the connecting pieces of the tile and transformed them into umbrella stands. They also gave some of these stands a personalized appearance when many of the stands were actually painted. These are rare products today - I actually only know of three in existence; however, I assume there are more. Since this piece was found in a junk-type shop in Haverhill, which usually means to me that most of the inventory is found locally - I wonder if there is a Portland, Maine connection with this vase. It's just a thought, but an interesting concept to consider at the least.

 Probably Late 19th Century Hand-Thrown Sewer Tile Vase

Stands 9 3/8" Tall

Found Yesterday in Haverhill, Mass.

 The Glaze is Beautiful

 View of the Interior

 Another View of the Interior

 View of the Vase Under Different Lighting

The Base is Inscribed "M.J.D. 12-4"

Could it Have Been Made as a Christmas Present?!

This link will direct you to a very-rare example of a signed umbrella stand made in Portland, Maine that I discovered in Fairfield, Maine last September.

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

The Molded Household Red Earthenware Produced in Canada as Early as the Late 1850's

According to the book, Early Canadian Pottery by Donald Webster, "The individual craft-based potter in Canada was always severely limited in the variety and complexity of what they could produce. Reliance on locally available red-firing clays; the impossibility of competing with mass-produced importations; and the lack of available capital or any available technological base; all were factors which seriously hindered the development of a modern ceramics industry in Canada and for a long time restricted native manufacture to the level of hand-made earthenware...The rudiments of a factory system based on invested capital and technology, began apparently at the Brantford Pottery with the introduction in the late 1850's of moulded and slip-cast wares...Sectional moulding, and assembly from various component parts, was an essential technique for producing one pottery type that became extremely popular in the 19th century in North America-the figure or patterned wares with integral decorative motifs standing in relief. This moulded pottery was commonly produced as teapots, pitchers, and spittoons, and very often was covered with that ubiquitous 19th century glaze known in different areas as Rockingham, Bennington or spatter."

The Brantford, Ontario Pottery was established by the American stoneware potter, Justus Morton, who reportedly migrated a few hundred miles west from Lyons, New York in 1848. The business he established reportedly operated from 1849 to 1907 - a period that saw the company manufacture utilitarian wares almost uninterrupted (nonstop) with very-few exceptions - a feat that was rarely met by many businesses in North America that did not operate in a factory kind of atmosphere in the 1800's. Output at the business consisted of mostly stoneware even though I have found reports that cite red earthenware was also a part of Brantford's line of production. According to archaeological investigations at the business - wares were sometimes marked Brantford/Canada, which leads me to believe there may have been an export business that shipped wares elsewhere possibly into America in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. Unfortunately, many of the company's wares are unmarked leaving attributions sometimes difficult today. The business has been described as "arguably the most important nineteenth-century potter's business in Canada that was a part of a new wave of business ownership that took on the advancements of the technological revolution."

This is a map that shows the two-hundred or-so mile trek Morton made west from Lyons, New York to Brantford, Ontario in 1848. The town of Lyons is markd with a B and Blantford is marked with an A.

Map Shows Lyons, NY and Brantford, Ontario

This is the Trek, Justus Morton Made in 1848 

Morton Established the Brantford Pottery in 1849
Brantford Pottery: Ca. 1849-1907

Photo Courtesy: Mapquest

Here is a link to a report kept at the Royal Ontario Museum that details the archaeology and history of the Brantford Pottery.

Shown below is a molded red earthenware pitcher possibly made at the Brantford Pottery in Ontario in the late 1850's or the 1860's. It sold at Maple Leaf Auctions in Ontario in the spring of 2013. It was described by the auction-house: "A truly impressive redware pitcher with extreme proportions. 10 1/2" tall at the peak of the handle and a bold broad form. Heavy patterning with swirls top and bottom and a crude leaf  and berry design middle. Orange under glaze with heavy brown speckle. Likely an early Brantford Ontario piece. Remarkable condition! Rings true. An amazing early redware pitcher that will not be ignored! Conjures images of pioneer travels."

Mid-19th Century Molded Red Earthenware Pitcher Likely Made in Ontario, Canada

Possibly Produced at the Brantford Pottery in the Late 1850's or the 1860's

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Maple Leaf Auctions - Carleton Place, Ontario

The Pitcher's Other Side

Photo Courtesy: Maple Leaf Auctions - Carleton Place, Ontario

In today's first report, a group of red earthenware products were shown - I felt that some could be mistaken for products made in America - especially by the potters who owned businesses that operated in the states that bordered the Canadian provinces in the nineteenth-century.

In this second report, I want to briefly discuss the kind of pottery that is referenced in the citation above. I'm sure that many people can agree they have seen this kind of utilitarian ceramic in antique shops across the eastern seaboard. I know that I commonly see this type of product in stores I frequently visit in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts - and I regularly assume they are products that were manufactured in places like Vermont; however, I feel this is an attribution that is too quickly established by myself today since related wares were also produced at many businesses in Canada. Much like Canadian red earthenware that has made its way south across the American border over the years confusing some people (including myself) who believe that some of this redware could be an American-made product - I also believe this complication regularly happens today with molded wares that resemble products that were made in places like Vermont, New York, New Jersey and Ohio in the 1800's. The major difference in all of these wares is the color of the body - some of the Canadian products display a reddish colored body while the better-part of the American-made wares present a white colored clay body.

A few months ago, I went out picking in the lakes region of New Hampshire - my first stop was a group of antique-type shops in downtown Laconia, New Hampshire. Inside the first shop I entered (more like an antique center), I found a highly decorated molded red earthenware pitcher mixed in with all sorts of bric-a-brac inside a dealer's space. I immediately knew it was something from the 1800's; although, I wasn't positive of where it was made. Initially, when I picked the pitcher up - I felt it was a Bennington, Vermont-type product even though the shape or form and the decoration appeared different than what I had come to expect from those products. However, when I looked closely at the base, I saw a red colored clay. I knew it was something so I didn't hesitate carrying it up to the counter in the front of the shop to purchase, but what it was and who made it became a mystery to me since last November.

Soon after I bought it, I showed the colorful pitcher around to a few knowledgeable people, but no one really had a positive thought of where it could have been made - and until recently, I had never really given a Canadian attribution any kind of thought. Nevertheless, this latest discussion has me believing this pitcher is possibly a high-end example of the molded type of wares made in Canada after the late-1850's. The glaze is spectacular!

I have analyzed a small group of molded pots attributed to potters in Canada in the past few days and it is my feeling that this molded pitcher is as a quality example of this kind of ware made in possibly Quebec or Ontario in the late-1850's, the 1860's - or very-soon after.

 19th Century Molded Red Earthenware Pitcher Possibly Manufactured in Canada

Ca. Late 1850's or 1860's...Maybe a Little Later

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

Absolutely Stunning Glaze Color

Discovered in an Antique-Type Shop in Laconia, NH

 View of the Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

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