American-Made Red Earthenware Advertising Pots and Souvenir Pots from the 19th and the 20th Centuries

According to the book, 'Encyclopedia of American Folk Art' by Gerard Wertkin, "American potters turned out a large number of miniatures in redware, stoneware and yellowware . Redware potters, especially in Pennsylvania, produced pitchers, jugs, pots, crocks and kegs, ranging in size from one to three inches and glazed in various ways. Most common were examples of pottery with a clear lead or a black manganese glaze. Less often seen and much sought after are slip-glazed pie plates, bowls and platters with designs in brown, white or green slip.

At the end of the nineteenth century, as their craft was dying, redware potters began to make unglazed, novelty miniatures. Some of these, such as the tiny pots impressed with 'Boston Baked Beans' were made for firms that used them to advertise their products. Others were sold in department stores or made to order for events such as fairs and banquets, or to be offered to tourists. These often bear stencils such as 'Michigan State Fair 1895' or 'Lake George 1892.'"

Through the coarse of my travels in recent years - I have accumulated a nice group of these miniature advertising pieces. I never pay much for them. I usually can't resist, when a dealer is only charging three-or-four-dollars, but I have seen them priced for as much as one-hundred-dollars. I believe that almost every example that I own was either found at a flea market or in a junk shop.

I had never really studied any of these pieces before, but I figured over the weekend that they would make for an interesting article. Most of the examples that I own were made for the New England Confectionary Company (or NECCO) of Revere, Massachusetts, which was created in 1901 by the merger of several Boston-area confectionary companies. The souvenir pots that I know of today that area related to this company are marked 'NECCO Boston Baked Beans' or 'Boston Baked Beans' with 'OK' on the reverse side. I am not sure what 'OK' means. I believe that these pots were probably made during the introductory years - and, they were likely handed out as advertising souvenirs to help spread the word of the newly formed business. I have also always wondered what potter's business could have been responsible for these pots - and, it is my belief that a potter's business in Essex County, Massachusetts (i.e. Moses Paige Pottery in Peabody, Mass., C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass., etc) would make the most sense considering the time-frame that these pots would have been manufactured. I can envision a potter throwing pot-after-pot in a very-short amount of time.

 Early 20th Century Souvenir Miniature Red Earthenware Bean Pots

Possibly a Massachusetts Potter

Impressed on the Front 'NECCO BOSTON BAKED BEANS'

Ca. 1900-1910

Stand Approximately 1 1/2" Tall

 Impressed on the Back, 'OK'

 Early 20th Century Souvenir Miniature Red Earthenware Bean Pots

Possibly a Massachusetts Potter

Impressed on the Front 'BOSTON BAKED BEANS'

Ca. 1900-1910

Stand Approximately 1 3/4" Tall

  Impressed on the Back, 'OK'

I also own this souvenir miniature bean pot, which reads, 'HUB BAKED BEANS.' I assume it be may be another variation of the advertising pots that were made for the New England Confectionary Company in the early twentieth-century, but I haven't seen it documented anywhere.

 Early 20th Century Souvenir Miniature Red Earthenware Bean Pot

Possibly a Massachusetts Potter

Impressed 'HUB BAKED BEANS'

Ca. 1900-1910

Stands 1 7/8" Tall

I also own a pair of advertising pots that read, 'C.A. BRIGGS CO.' - however, I am not sure if this was a New England-based company or not. The clay suggests to me that these pots may have been made elsewhere. A simple search has not provided much information into where this company was located.

19th/20th Century Souvenir Miniature Red Earthenware Bean Pots

Impressed 'CA BRIGGS CO.'

Ca. 1890-1910

(Right) Stands 1 1/4" Tall

(Left) Stands 1 1/2" Tall

Here is an earlier example of a pot that was stamped by the potter for a specific merchant that is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. This is not a novelty pot, but rather a utilitarian pot that still probably served an advertising need. It was likely made by a potter in Essex County (i.e. C.A. Lawrence Pottery in Beverly, Mass. or a business in Peabody, Mass.). The pot probably dates from the late-nineteenth-century. The pot was made for a merchant/person named, 'B.O. Pierce,' who was probably a merchant in Salem - and, this was also where the pot was originally discovered before it was bequeathed to the museum in the early-twentieth-century.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot Likely Made in Essex County, MA

Ca. 1860's to 1890's

Stands Approximately 6" Tall 

Bequeathed to the Museum in the Early 20th Century 

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

The Pot is Stamped, 'B.O. PIERCE'
Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

Another View of the Pot
Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

 View of the Base
Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

 View of the Interior
Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

Another View of the Interior
Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, MA

Mystery Pot

In keeping with the miniature pots of this report - I figured I would show this small red earthenware pot that I discovered in Brimfield, Massachusetts a few years ago. I have never been able to determine an accurate origin; although, the dealer did tell me that she found it in a house in Connecticut. It appears like it could be a very-early European pot to me that could be hundreds of years old. Any ideas?

 Small Red Earthenware Pot

Possibly Very-Old

Origin Unknown

Stands 1 3/4" Tall

Originally Discovered in a House in Connecticut

 View of the Pot Upside Down

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

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

A Pair of Utilitarian New England-Made Red Earthenware Objects Discovered Today with Ties to Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Today, I met a young dealer, Gabe Ficht, who I have seen setup at some of the Nan Gurley Antique Shows in Portsmouth, New Hampshire earlier this year. He's a freshman at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, but he lives in Rowley, Massachusetts, which is near me in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He also sells out of Salt Marsh Antiques in Rowley. I asked him how he got into the antique business today - he told me the antique industry does not run in his family, but he said he has been a collector of colonial period coins since he was only five-years-old - and, really just one thing has led to another ever since. He also told me that antique coin collecting runs in his family.

The reason I saw him today is because he is a really good picker - and, he's come across some interesting redware lately. My eleven-year-old nephew, Jason and I actually met up with him - and, as result, we bought two pieces of redware.

Gabe told me this first piece was purchased at a small auction in New Hampshire about a month ago. It is a nineteenth-century form that is traditionally attributed to the potters, who worked in the Chesham region of New Hampshire by collectors and dealers today. This area was also called, 'Pottersville' employing more-than a dozen potters in the 1800's.

This form is not represented in my collection. I have had the opportunity to buy related forms in the past, but they always seem to have some-kind of damage, whether it was a bad chip, a broken handle or glaze loss. This example is in wonderful condition with a nice glaze - so, I purchased it.

I have found that a characteristic found on many of the Chesham wares is an attempt at a rounded base, but not a rounded footed base. I'm not positive if this was a characteristic only found in Chesham - or, if other potters used it elsewhere in New Hampshire, but it is not a characteristic that is found all-over New England in nearby places like Maine, Vermont or Massachusetts.

Map Showing Chesham, NH

Photo Courtesy: Google Maps

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to Chesham, NH

Originally Purchased at a Small Auction in NH

Ca. 1820-1860

Stands 7 7/8" Tall

 View of the Handle

 View of the Base

View of the Rounded Base

This next piece may not be the most appealing of all known forms for most collectors or museums today, but the fact is - it was a part of the New England red earthenware potter's output in the 1700's and the 1800's. It is also a rare New England form that I can not recall ever seeing in the open market before. The form is a bedpan. The reason I purchased it is because Gabe bought it directly from a Federal Period home on High Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts in the last few weeks. I couldn't pass it up with the chance that it could be from a local Massachusetts maker. It is also very-well made with a glaze that reminds me of glazes that were applied in Essex County, Massachusetts in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts owns a large collection of red earthenware chamber pots made in Essex Country; however, there are no bedpans represented in that collection. There are also some William Pecker Pottery (ca. 1790-1820) characteristics from Merrimacport, Massachusetts found on this bedpan. Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) refers to this form as a "sickroom necessity."

 18th/19th Century Red Earthenware Bedpan

Possibly from a Local Essex County, Massachusetts Potter

Discovered in a Federal Period House on High Street in Newburyport, MA

Measures 14" Long

Stands 3 1/8" Tall

 Another View of the Bedpan

View of the Base

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

A Stoneware Bottle My Father Purchased in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the Early-1970's

Soon after I arrived home from work today - my father, brought over a stoneware bottle that he thought I would find interesting. It has been in my parents antique collection for almost forty-years. He said that very-few people have seen it since he acquired it. My father told me that he purchased it at a 'Hubley Auction' in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the early 1970's when my parents were living in Lynn, Massachusetts. Accompanying it in the lot, was a piece of glass, but that has since been sold a long time ago. My parents decided to keep this bottle because they thought it was special.

As far as my father can recall - the bottle came from an old estate in Cambridge that was consigned to the auction. He also recalled that this sale featured a silver stein or a mug that was made by Paul Revere and stamped on the base with Revere's mark. To his knowledge, the bottle and the stein came from the same Cambridge estate. My dad told me that he remembered the mug was under a glass case guarded by a couple of Cambridge Police officers. He said he couldn't remember exactly who he bid against for the bottle, but he does remember bidding often at this auction over the years against longtime Massachusetts auctioneer and dealer, Carl Stinson, who is a name that many reading this may recognize.

This is what I know about the bottle: prominently stamped across the front of it is the name, 'J. Bryant Jun / S Reading / Mass.' A simple genealogy search reveals that the 'Bryant' name dates back to the seventeenth-century in Massachusetts - and, there are records that show the Bryant name was active throughout the Wakefield and Stoneham, Massachusetts-areas in the early-eighteenth-century.

I believe this is an early bottle that probably dates from the eighteenth-century possibly before the American Revolution. The town of South Reading, Massachusetts no longer exists today; it became Wakefield, Massachusetts in 1812.

The following list shows all of the known 'J. Bryants' that were born in the South Reading/Wakefield, Massachusetts-area before 1850. This list was taken from the book, 'Vital Records of Wakefield, Massachusetts Before 1850,' which was put together by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston in 1912.

List of 'J. Bryants' Born in South Reading/Wakefield, MA Before 1850

Photo Courtesy: New England Historic Genealogical Society - Boston, MA

There are a number of 'J. Bryants' on the list above; however, what's especially fascinating about the list is that many of them were born decades before the American Revolution. It's also great that this bottle came from an early context in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is less than fifteen-miles south of South Reading/Wakefield.

 18th Century Stoneware Bottle 

Purchased from a Cambridge, MA Estate in the Late-1970's

Measures 5 3/8" Tall

Stamped, 'J. Bryant Jun / S Reading / Mass'

 View of the Stamp

 Another View of the Stamp

 View of the Top of the Bottle

 View of the Back of the Bottle

 View of the Base

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

A Stoneware Bottle Marked 'Tarbell' Discovered in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland sold a rather interesting salt-glazed stoneware bottle in 2010 that was suggested to have been made at the Tarbell Pottery (ca. 1782-1819) in Beverly, Massachusetts, which is a potter's business that not a great amount is known from today. Prominently stamped on the front of this bottle is the name, 'TARBELL.'

According to Lura Woodside Watkins book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' "William Tarbell (1754-1815), a potter from Danvers (Massachusetts), lived in the central part of Beverly. As a boy he was apprenticed to a master craftsmen in his native town. At the age of twenty-four he married Anna Venn. Four years later, in 1782, he bought land in Beverly and presumably began his potting business there at the time. Anna died in 1796, and her husband took a second wife, Abigail Carter. Tarbell now purchased a piece of land whose bounds give a clew to the location of his pottery. Beginning at the end of a stonewall near Tarbell's house, the line of the lot ran northerly by the highway leading from the Essex Bridge to the Beverly Cotton Manufactory, then southerly to the land of William Woodberry, and easterly by the Woodberry heirs and Tarbell's land to the first point. The Tarbell Pottery continued for many years, William's son, William Tarbell, Jr. (1793-1819) and namesake become his assistant and partner. The elder Tarbell died in 1815, the younger died only four years later."

The output at the Tarbell Pottery is not a subject that is completely understood today; however, I would assume that they made utilitarian red earthenware similar to that of which was made in nearby, Danvers, Massachusetts. After all, that is what William Tarbell's training would have consisted of in Danvers at one of the half-dozen or so potter's businesses that operated there in the late-eighteenth-century. I happen to own a large red earthenware jar with heavy incised decoration that I think may have been made at the Tarbell Pottery, but I am not completely sure of it - and, based on today's known information, you can probably understand my confusion surrounding the stoneware bottle that sold at Crocker Farm.

Here is a link to the Crocker Farm listing.

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Salt-Glazed Stoneware Bottle with the Name 'TARBELL' Impressed

Possibly from the Tarbell Pottery in Beverly, Mass.

Possibly Ca. 1782-1819

Stands 9 3/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

I hadn't really given the stoneware bottle much thought in recent memory; however, that all changed yesterday, when I was picking my way through a collectible and decorative-type shop called, 'New Bedford Antiques at the Cove' in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I would describe this shop as a large store, where the antique industry meets the thrift shop world. The store sells an eclectic assortment of all kinds of imaginable goods. It's basically an indoor flea market with most of the merchandise coming from the Greater New Bedford-area.

 New Bedford Antiques at the Cove - New Bedford, MA

New Bedford Antiques at the Cove - New Bedford, MA

In this shop, I came across a similar stoneware bottle, also with the name, 'TARBELL' impressed with a similar stamp on the front of it; although, it should also be noted that this bottle was definitely under-fired. I really began to think about what the true meaning behind these two bottles could be, while I walked around the store and even on my drive home. It's possible that Tarbell was a merchant, but I also have another idea. On my ride home, I compared the Tarbell Pottery to the William Pecker Pottery of Merrimacport, Massachusetts - both of which, appear to have been small family-oriented businesses that overlapped the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

The is what I came up with - the Tarbell Pottery (ca. 1782-1819) operated during the same period as the Pecker Pottery (ca. 1790-1820), which was located only a few miles (roughly 30 miles) to the north of Beverly along the picturesque Merrimack River just south of the New Hampshire border. It wasn't until recently (past ten-years) that Pecker was identified as not only a red earthenware potter, but he also produced stoneware.  I have personally collected a number of stoneware sherds, kiln furniture and kiln bricks associated with Pecker's stoneware production - and, I have found that the clay color seen on some of the sherds is comparable to the bottle that was discovered in New Bedford. Pecker's stoneware output is nowhere near the same as his red earthenware production, but from the artifacts that I have discovered, combined with the known stamped pieces that bear Pecker's name, which have survived today - it is apparent that he did successfully experiment with stoneware. It's certainly possible that the Tarbell's did the same, as Pecker, in Beverly in the early 1800's.

There is still a large amount of information to be learned about the Tarbell Pottery today, but I wouldn't be surprised if this business experimented with stoneware, too. This was the period when domestic stoneware really started to become fashionable in America - and, it was only a few miles to the south of Beverly and Merrimacport that Frederick Carpenter operated an extremely successful business in Charlestown, Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. I was also told recently by Maine collector, Rick Poore that the 'Boston / 1804' mark sometimes seen on some of Carpenter's pots was the year that Carpenter opened a landmark retail business in Boston. The rare mark may have signified an accomplishment for Carpenter that made him proud. Stoneware production had been mostly disappointing in Massachusetts before all of this occurred with mostly failed experiments and non-profitable companies. The lesson learned from most of the past ventures was the specific conditions it took to successfully produce stoneware versus red earthenware - and, equally important was a margin for profit.

This new sense of success may have generated an excitement in the state's potter's industry that could have spread with a number of red earthenware potters all-over coastal Massachusetts, where few may have dared to experiment with stoneware - while the vast majority did not participate, but likely appreciated it. The bottles shown in this report may be two examples of a small line of stoneware production by the Tarbell family in Beverly, Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth or the early-nineteenth-century. It's also possible that these bottles may represent a small stoneware business that has been forgotten - and, this is part of what remains today (I assume there may be more out there). 

 Early 19th Century Stoneware Bottle with the Name, 'TARBELL' Stamped on the Front

Possibly Related to the Tarbell Pottery in Beverly, MA

Stands 9 5/8" Tall

Found Yesterday in New Bedford, MA

 View of the Name, 'TARBELL' Impressed on the Bottle

 View of the Top of the Bottle

View of the Base

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

An Early 19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Teapot Uncovered on Castle Island in South Boston, Massachusetts

Recently, while studying a collection of red earthenware recovered by archaeologists within various contexts at the University of Massachusetts at Boston's Archaeology Department, I came across this black-glazed red earthenware teapot. This teapot was recovered within an early-nineteenth century archaeological context on Castle Island in South Boston, Massachusetts. I suspect that this teapot was probably made at the Thomas Crafts Pottery in Whately, Massachusetts, circa 1821-1833. The Whately teapots are known to have been exported all over New England, New York, etc.

This teapot is also similar to another teapot that was recovered within a comparable archaeological context at the Narbonne House in Salem, Massachusetts; whereas, it is certainly possible that both of these artifacts are related.

Note: Here is a link to an article that shows the teapot that was recovered at the Narbonne House in Salem, Massachusetts.

Teapot Uncovered on Castle Island in South Boston, MA

Early 19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Teapot

Uncovered on Castle Island in South Boston, MA

Probably Made at the Thomas Crafts Pottery in Whately, Mass.

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department

Another View of the Teapot

Photo Courtesy: The University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department

 View of the Handle
Photo Courtesy: The University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department

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

Eighteenth Century Pan Possibly from Newburyport, Massachusetts Recovered at a Trading Post in New Brunswick

The Bayley family of potters are an important name when it comes to the first group of landmark potters who helped establish the coastal Massachusetts red earthenware industry in the eighteenth century. Joseph Bayley (1701-1761) was the first in the family to enter the potter's trade in Rowley, Massachusetts; however, reportedly due to religious reasons he left Rowley in 1735 for Newbury (today Newburyport), Massachusetts - whereas, there is no indication or proof today that he continued to manufacture pottery after he left Rowley for Newbury.

A son, Daniel Bayley (1725-1799) established the Daniel Bayley Pottery Comany in Newbury (ca. 1766-1799) in 1766, where a number of family members threw red earthenware pots through the lifespan of this business until 1799. Those family members included, Daniel Bayley, Jr. (1755-1799), Nathaniel Bayley ( 1774-1849) and William Bayley (1766-1799); although, I am certain there were additional family members or other potters involved with the business, as well.

Nevertheless, there are examples of this company's production that are known to have survived today, which are scattered throughout private collections and museum collections that  represent how some of the output at this business appeared before 1799.

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares) actually salvaged a large number of sherds, wasters and kiln furniture from the Bayley Pottery site in the 1930s when construction crews were digging their way through the entire site for a new highway underpass that went directly through the Bayley property.

In today's report, I would like to revisit a slip decorated hand-thrown pan that I briefly touched upon a few years ago - the pan was found in Canada in the 1950s, where archaeologists have attributed it to the Daniel Bayley Pottery in Newburyport.

According to the curator of the New Brunswick Museum, Peter Larocque, "The pan attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery of Newbury(port), Massachusetts was uncovered during an archaeological dig in 1955-1956 at Portland Point within the city limits of Saint John, New Brunswick. The site was where Massachusetts businessmen, 'Simonds, Hazen and White,' setup a trading post in the 1760's."


Distance that Pan Traveled in the 1700s

Map Showing the Distance Between Newburyport, MA and Saint John, NB
This is Approximately a 370 Mile Drive Today

Photo Courtesy: Mapquest

I asked Mr. Larocque whether this pan was an obscurity - or if there was a possibility that Bayley Pottery was exported into Canada - his reply was fascinating; "It is unclear whether this was an item for sale or in use at the trading post. By the late 1770s, there was a small town growing up around the trading post and the newly erected Fort Howe nearby. My suspicions are that since the principals in the company were from or near Newbury(port) it is likely that the material did come from there. Some of the company's ledgers exist in various collections locally, but I have not examined them personally. I would say that it is not an obscurity - and, that Bayley's Pottery was imported here on an intermittent basis in those early years."

According to the Canadian website, 'Historic Places,' "The British constructed Forte Howe in 1777 as a response to several requests from the residents around the mouth of the Saint John River that their small settlement be protected from further attacks by American privateers. With its location on a towering rock offering unmatched views of the harbour and up the river.  Fort Howe and its garrison provided protection to the surrounding settlements through the end of the War of 1812. The original fort consisted of a blockhouse and barracks within a palisade on the western end of the hill, and a blockhouse on the eastern end, and was manned by a detachment of the Royal Fencible Americans under Major Gilfred Studholme. After the founding of Parrtown, later renamed Saint John, in 1783, the fort served as the military headquarters, as well as the first civil jail for the new town. Following a fire in 1819 that destroyed the original barracks, the fort fell into disrepair and by 1870 the remaining original fortifications had been removed."

I think this pan is a remarkable discovery that reveals red earthenware products made in Newbury(port), Massachusetts were possibly exported well-over three-hundred miles north into New Brunswick before 1775. I have previously documented on this website that Bayley Pottery was exported into Maine before the American Revolution; however, a Canadian context is even a greater discovery for the history of this potter's business.

Note: Pictured below, I have also shown a sample group of the sherds that Lura Woodside Watkins collected at the Daniel Bayley Pottery site, which reveal a very-similar slip decoration in both manner and the width of the brush or tool used to apply the slip when compared to the dish recovered in New Brunswick.

Pan Recovered in New Brunswick

Daniel Bayley Pottery Co. Attributed Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Dish - Newburyport, MA
Recovered in Saint John, NB in the Mid-1950s
Stands 3 1/8" Tall

Measures 14 1/8" in Diameter
Circa Late-1760's or Early-1770s
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Peter Larocque, New Brunswick Museum - Saint John, NB

Sherds Recovered at the Bayley Site in Newburyport, Mass.

 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherds Found in Newbury(port), MA
Uncovered by Lura Woodside Watkins at the Site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company
Ca. 1764-1799
Notice the Similar Manner of the Slip Decoration Compared to the Pan Found in New Brunswick
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherd Found in Newbury(port), MA
Uncovered by Lura Woodside Watkins at the Site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company
Ca. 1764-1799
Notice the Similar Manner of the Slip Decoration Compared to the Pan Found in New Brunswick
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherd Found in Newbury(port), MA
Uncovered by Lura Woodside Watkins at the Site of the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company
Ca. 1764-1799
Notice the Similar Manner of the Slip Decoration Compared to the Pan Found in New Brunswick
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

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

The Continued Study of the Dodge Family Pottery in Portland, Maine in the 18th and the 19th Centuries

A topic that I have written about recently is the Dodge Family Pottery (ca. 1796-1875), which operated in Portland, Maine during the late-eighteenth and the nineteenth-centuries. Ultimately, this was one of Maine's earliest - and, likely most-important businesses. The Dodge Pottery was a father-son operated company that saw Benjamin Dodge (1774-1838) as the proprietor - until his unexpected and untimely death in 1838 - and, as result his son, Benjamin Dodge, Jr. (1802-1875) took control of the business. Recent reports have included the idea of shifting the knowledge and beliefs of what we think we know today about other Maine-based potter's businesses - and, possibly shifting some of those longtime attributions to the production and output at the Dodge Pottery in Portland.

According to an article written by author, M. Lelyn Branin in 1969 for the magazine, 'Old Time New England, "The inspiration for these lines from (Henry Wadsworth) Longfellow's Keramos (poem in the Maine Historical Society) probably came from an earthenware pottery which existed in Portland (Maine) near the end of the eighteenth century and throughout much of the nineteenth."

"(The) Founder of this pottery was Benjamin Dodge, son of Jabez Dodge who had come from Beverly, Massachusetts, around 1771 or a little before and established an earthenware pottery business in Exeter, New Hampshire. When about twenty years of age the son apparently decided to go on his own and set up a pot shop in Portland, Maine. There are several early references to Dodge and his pot shop in the Journal of the Reverend Samuel Deane (of Portland). In listing new dwelling houses and business opportunities in Portland, and additions to old ones, he has this entry for 1796, 'add to the pot house...' This must refer to the Dodge Pottery, for so far as we know, no other existed in Portland at that time."

When Benjamin Dodge arrived in Portland in 1794 or 1795, he apparently rented or leased a property on "Maine" Street (now Congress Street), as shown by the 1795 advertisement, where he established his home and pot shop. More space was soon needed for the potting activities so an addition was made to the pot house in 1796, as noted by Deane.

Dodge moved his pot shop in 1802 or 1803 to Green Street. The only account we have of the Dodge pottery by a contemporary, is a type script copy of a paper by William Goold of Portland which was deposited in the Library of the Maine Historical Society in 1928."

---------------

"Mr. Dodge made progress in his Art. He commenced to ornament the most expensive jars and pots, especially water pitchers made to order, making them with the initial letter of names.

I remember one piece of ware made in 1825, on one side of which was purported to be a likeness of Lafayette, who was then the nation's guest and having initials of the lady for whom it was intended on the other.

On some of the ware made by Mr. Dodge, were attempts at the likeness of animals and birds in relief and some modes in the glazing. Of those in relief the legs and tails of animals seemed to have been placed without due care. A horse would have the forward legs of a Giraffe and perhaps the tail of a cow. Cats had a severe curl to their tails like the tail of a nervous dog. 

Busts of people received more care. Most of these were in profile. After the pieces were finished they were set in another room to dry, and it was favourite amusement with some bad boys, whom the good men tolerated notwithstanding, to disfigure the human faces by drawing down the corners of the mouths to produce a ludicrous expression. This disfiguring, the potter did not observe until it was too late to mend, and it was fired in the kiln with the others, set away on the shelf, and sold at reduced prices."

---------------

Dodge died soon after Mr. Goold's account of how some of the wares made by Dodge in the 1820's appeared - Dodge reportedly suffered from melancholy and later insanity - before he eventually killed himself in 1838. I am curious to know if the disfigured animals were the result of Dodge's state of mind. I am also curious to know if the boys who altered Dodge's pots did it on purpose to mess with Dodge - or, were the boys merely having fun at Dodge's expense. Did they know of his mental issues?

Dodge's son, Benjamin Dodge, Jr. ran the business well into the 1870's. Reports suggests that most of his output was the result of Dodge since he was not believed to have regularly employed an apprentice - unlike his father, who is regarded as employing a few apprentices. "Much of the output (after 1838) was sold locally, but since the business was located near the wharves in a busy port a considerable quantity of the ware must have found its way to many points along the coast. Shipment by water was an important means of distributing wares, especially before rail transportation became widespread."

The following map shows the whereabouts of the latest Dodge Pottery kiln in Portland bordering Brattle Street and Potter's Lane in 1871, which was shown in the Cumberland County, Maine Atlas from that same year. Pictured below that, is a current map that reveals Brattle Street is still located in Portland today - also seen on the current map is the city's waterfront and docks that are only a few blocks from where the Dodge Pottery operated in 1871.

Map Showing the Location of the Dodge Pottery in Portland, ME in 1871

Photo Taken from the Cumberland County, ME Atlas Published in 1871
The Pottery was Located on Brattle Street and Potter's Lane

Published by F.W. Beers, New York

Photo Courtesy: Old Time New England, M. Lelyn Branin

Map of Portland, ME Showing Battle Street and the Dodge Pottery Today

The Business Was Located a Few Blocks from the City's Waterfront and Docks

Photo Courtesy: Google Maps

There is still so-much to be learned about the pottery produced by the Dodge family in Portland. There are a small number of stamped pots known today with the impressed mark 'B DODGE / PORTLAND' that reside in private collections and museum holdings; however, beyond that not a lot of information is known. 

The following pot is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - it is attributed to Portland, Maine; although, no specific potter's name or potter's business is cited. It appears to be a skillfully made ovoid pitcher that has been colorfully glazed (possibly a water pitcher like that cited above) with wavy and straight incised line decoration around the top half of the object. Could this pitcher be another example of pottery made in Portland? Could this pot help expand the limited knowledge of what is perceived as products from the Dodge Pottery today? Unfortunately, I am not aware how the museum determined its attribution.

Here is the link to the pitcher on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Ovoid Pitcher Attributed to Portland, ME

Ca. 1800-1830

Stands 5 3/4" Tall

Measures 6 1/4" Wide

Interesting Incised Decorated Around the Top Half of the Pot

Wonderful Variegated Green Glaze On Top of an Algae Colored Glaze

Donated to the Museum as Part of the Rogers Fund in 1913

Photo Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - NY, NY

A Closer Look at the Pot

Photo Courtesy: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - NY, NY

A Pot Worth Discussing

Historic New England owns the following tin-glazed jar that is attributed to the Dodge Pottery in Portland; however, I am rather confused with how I should interpret it. The form appears to be drawn from an Asian influence.

The jar was donated to the museum as part of the Margaret Jewel Collection decades ago. Miss Jewel is known today to have conducted research into the Dodge Pottery, but I am not sure what entailed her research - and, how deeply she was involved with it.

According to the museum - the jar was made by the elder, Benjamin Dodge. This wouldn't be the first instance of a traditional American utilitarian potter applying a tin glaze to their wares, but it would be among the first I have heard of in New England. For example, John Bell is known to have sparingly applied these kind of glazes to some products made in Pennsylvania in the 1800's. In this case, the product appears like it could be an attempt at art pottery. I guess it is feasible since there were both stoneware and red earthenware businesses known in Portland in the 1800's. Oddly, the museum attributes this jar to a twentieth-century period of 1900 to 1933. I wonder if this is a typo by the museum - and, instead they meant '1800-1833.' Honestly, I have no idea if the attribution is correct or not. Interpretations and opinions are more than welcome for this piece! If proven true, the idea of a local tin glazed ware made in Portland, Maine would be a significant discovery. What do you think?

Here is the link to the jar on Historic New England's website.

Purportedly Dodge Pottery Tin Glazed Jar - Portland, ME

Stands 3 1/2" Tall

Miss Margaret Jewell Collection

Photo Courtesy: Historic New England - Boston, MA

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