An Unusual-Style of Red Earthenware Attributed to Boscowan, New Hampshire by the New Hampshire Historical Society

A little more than a month ago - I was shown a collection of pottery from a New Hampshire house that was for sale. There was a certain object in that collection that spoke to me; however, I couldn't pinpoint where I had seen a similar object before. I knew I had, but I just couldn't remember where - I even handled this object last weekend - and, my feelings remained the same. I just couldn't figure out where I had seen a related object.

But, it all came together yesterday evening when I was curiously studying some of the red earthenware objects owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire. Pictured on my computer screen was a fancy black-glazed red earthenware pitcher attributed to the Boscowan Pottery in Boscowan, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, I don't know what the museum's definition of 'Boscowan Pottery' means since there were a few different businesses known to have operated in this small inland town in the nineteenth-century.

According to the historical society - this pitcher was a gift donated to the museum in 1938 by Margaret H. Jewell, who is also a name synonymous with Historic New England since she also donated a large collection of New England-made utilitarian pottery to that organization about the same period. Marked on the bottom of the museum's pitcher - it reads: "Gift of M.H. Jewell 1938 / Boscowan Pottery."

Admittedly, this pitcher does seem out of the ordinary for products that were made in Boscowan in the 1800's, which typically represent what other country potter's were producing throughout New England during the same one-hundred-year period. However, I should note that there are misleading published attributions from the 1920's (1925 & 1926) tied to the products made in Boscowan today. Most importantly - is the idea that stoneware was made at the Jeremiah Burpee (1781-1862) Pottery - truthfully, this is an inaccurate attribution. Stoneware was never made at this business.

Appropriately, it should be expected that I also question this pitcher's attribution; although, there is a better chance that this pitcher could have been made in Boscowan since it is a red earthenware product - rather, than any type of stoneware that was once said to have been made in this area.

Reportedly 19th Century Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher Attributed to Boscowan, NH

Reportedly Made at the 'Boscowan Pottery'

Circa 1804-1862

Stands 8 3/8" Tall

Gift of Margaret H. Jewell in 1938

Photo Courtesy: New Hampshire Historical Society - Boscowan, NH

The reason that I was attracted to this pitcher is a result of the ovoid form (rounded belly) and many of the decorative characteristics, which are very-similar to the fancy black-glazed red earthenware jug that I was shown from the New Hampshire collection - and, I cite at the beginning of this article.

Shown below is that jug - you should be able to notice a number of decorative techniques that are also represented on the pitcher owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society. 

(Left) Black-Glazed Red Earthenware Jug 

Appears Related to the Pitcher Owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society

Stands Approximately 6" to 7" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Private New Hampshire Collection

View of the Base
Photo Courtesy: Private New Hampshire Collection

It also dawned on me that I wrote about a related fancy black-glazed red earthenware jug this past August - that jug, reportedly, descended through the famed Osborn family of Peabody, Massachusetts. The Osborns were a multi-generational family, who produced red earthenware in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. The family's business foundation was originally established in Essex County in Peabody. Arguably, this is one of the most-important family of potters to have worked in New England before 1900.

A friend, actually purchased the following jug from an elderly Osborn relative in Peabody in the early-1980's when he visited her home. She told him that it had been in her family for as long as she could remember. Coincidentally, Jeremiah Burpee, who ultimately founded the first business in Boscowan is thought to have trained or apprenticed at the Osborn Pottery in Loudon, New Hampshire in the early-nineteenth-century. Afterwards, he opened his own business in Boscowan, which later saw his sons and other family members also enter the potter's business in Boscowan. 

There are obvious questions that come to mind while writing about these objects - the biggest argument is an American maker versus a foreign maker. The easy answer is to say that these are foreign made products. But, should the idea that Margaret Jewell believed otherwise in 1938 be analyzed in further detail? I have found that most of her attributions between what she donated to Historic New England and the New Hampshire Historical Society are accurate today.

There are additional ideas that I would also like to take into account: Could this be a product line that is mistaken for a foreign-made company since the style is pretty-much unfamiliar to what is known from the New England potter's industry today? The style is also different from what is known from the types of red earthenware products that were also made during New England's Art & Crafts Movement amid the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries.

Lastly, I must ask the question: Could this really be a product-style that was made in Boscowan, New Hampshire or is this rather another bad attribution much-like the stoneware that was once also attributed to Boscowan? I feel the answer rests directly or indirectly with the Osborn family; otherwise, these must be foreign made products. Personally, I don't have enough proof either way, yet, but the Margaret H. Jewell attribution fascinates me.

If you look at this jug - it basically demonstrates the same twisted handle, the same decorated ovoid belly and a similar applied decoration when compared to the pitcher above - and, undoubtedly, this jug and the previous jug were produced at the same potter's business. How this translates is probably an ongoing discussion today.

 Red Earthenware Jug Purchased from the Osborn Family in Peabody, Mass. in the Early-1980's
Reportedly Also Descended Through the Osborn Family

Decoration is Similar to the Pitcher that is Owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society

Also, Very-Similar to the Jug Mentioned Above

Stands Approximately 7" to 8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 View of the Twisted Handle

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 Closer View of the Twisted Handle

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 View of the Applied Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 View of the Applied Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

 View of the Applied Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Private Collection - Rowley, Mass.

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

William Pecker Stoneware and the Treaty of 1677 Signed Between Virginia and the Local Native American Tribes

According to the websites 'Wikipedia' and 'Virginia Places,' "A treaty was negotiated in 1677 after the conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion, in which tribes in peace with Virginia Government had been attacked by rebels led by Nathaniel Bacon. The Treaty of 1677 (or the Treaty Between Virginia and the Indians of 1677 or the Treaty of Middle Plantation) was signed in Virginia on May 28, 1677 between King Charles II of England and representatives from various Virginia Native American tribes. The terms were defined by three local commissioners, who controlled the local colonial government.

The treaty designated those who signed as 'tributary tribes,' meaning they were guaranteed their homeland territories, hunting and fishing rights, the right to keep and bear arms, and other colonial protections so long as they maintained obedience and subjugation to the English Empire.

The twenty-one pages in the treaty's article were confirmed when England sent gifts to the chiefs along with various badges of authority."

Cover Page to the Treaty of 1677

Photo Courtesy: University of North Carolina School of Education - Chapel Hill, NC

For obvious reasons, this was a significant moment in early-American history; however, the importance of this event was further recognized, possibly a few-hundred years later - when a simple scene, which depicts this occasion, was painted on a stoneware jug produced by William Pecker in Merrimacport, Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century. Below Pecker's stamp (Wm Pecker) is the painted date '1677' - also painted on this jug is what appears to be an English ship and a Native American scene.

Any type of stoneware manufactured by William Pecker is considered extremely rare; however, this painted scene makes this jug even more significant today.

It's always an ongoing debate, whether, paint should be removed from any kind of red earthenware or stoneware that is not original to the surface of any given object today; although, this is a painted scene that I would absolutely not remove. The scene appears (to me) that it was painted sometime in the nineteenth-century. I believe that Pecker's stoneware was a relatively short-lived venture that seems (to me) to have been actively produced in the late-1790's.

Given the facts - and, based on when I believe this jug was made and when the scene seems to have been painted - I am doubtful that the artwork was accomplished by the jug's original owner. I feel more-confident saying that this jug was painted in the few generations of ownership that followed the jug's original owner.

I have mentioned in the past that there are less than ten-examples of marked William Pecker stoneware known today - and, this jug is among that known group. I also believe that this is the only three-gallon jug that is currently known from the William Pecker Pottery (see capacity marked with a '3' on the jug).

For a brief background: I recently wrote an in-depth article about William Pecker's stoneware and the extensive archaeological evidence that I have recovered in Merrimacport, Massachusetts that is related to this production. The article was written for the August 2015 edition of the New England Antiques Journal. However, the mystery behind stoneware made at the Pecker Pottery was first brought to light with a mysterious stoneware double-handled crock that appeared at a Kentucky flea market more-than a decade ago. The crock was decorated with an incised flower and an incised bird - it was also highlighted in an article written by John Kille for Ceramics in America in 2004.

Since that introductory article was first published in Ceramics in America - only a small amount of stoneware objects from this business have appeared - personally, I believe the Ceramics in America article would have immediately sparked an interest in this subject since Pecker was already a known accomplished red earthenware potter from circa 1784-1820 - and, since so-few examples have materialized - it is my belief that stoneware from the Pecker Pottery is exceedingly rare today.

August 2015 William Pecker Stoneware Article Written for the New England Antiques Journal

Shown is the First Page of the Article

The 2-Gallon Crock that is Shown was Originally Found at a Kentucky Flea Market

Photo Courtesy: Bill Chapman

I will admit that I find it fascinating as the first published example of William Pecker-made stoneware was found in Kentucky - and, now this example probably depicts a painted historical southern scene. The evidence says that this stoneware was made in northeastern Massachusetts near the coast - but, the idea that two of the few known examples probably have mid-western and southern ties is a compelling concept to recognize today.

 Late-18th Century 3-Gallon William Pecker Pottery Stoneware Jug - Merrimacport, Mass.

The Jug is Marked 'Wm Pecker' with the '3' for the Gallon Capacity

The Jug is Also Dated in Paint'1677'

I Believe the Date Represents the Treaty of 1677

I Also Believe that the Painted Scene on the Jug Represents the Treaty of 1677

Circa 1790's (Possibly Early 19th Century)

Painted Scene Circa 19th Century

Photo Courtesy: Gloria Mitchell

 Assumed to be a 17th Century English Ship Painted on One Side of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Gloria Mitchell

Native American Scene Painted on the Other Side of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Gloria Mitchell

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

Pits Found Near a Clay Source Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production in Newburyport, Massachusetts

I was asked last week after writing an article about a clay source that I found in Newburyport, Massachusetts - whether, I had noticed any (clay) pits in the area. I hadn't really thought about the idea, but it dawned on me after I was asked the question that the entire area appears to be pits. I don't know for sure how these pits were created, but I do know that Newburyport sustained a strong red earthenware and brick industry in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. Utilitarian red earthenware and art pottery from these businesses are represented in museums all over the country today. These businesses used (mostly) the local clay that was available to produce their products. The bricks that were manufactured in Newburyport can be seen on a number of nineteenth and twentieth-century buildings and nineteenth-century homes that line the city's streets, which is especially visible on some of the buildings in the downtown area.

The question that I was curiously asked was the result of that clay source that I found, which I believe is suitable for red earthenware and brick production (today). Most industries had clay pits caused from where potters would dig for clay - the most notable in Massachusetts was probably the clay pits that were found Medford, Massachusetts (next to Charlestown, Massachusetts) in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. These pits are under water today. In theory, I am now pondering the idea that some of the pits, which are found in Newburyport may have been dug by the area's local potters and brick makers possibly beginning as early as the 1740's through the twentieth-century.

I climbed to the highest point that I could find to take the following pictures - some of the pits are easy to see while there are others that are covered in trees and brush. I found it especially interesting that some of the walls on the small cliffs that led up to the area where I took these pictures are full of a blueish-grayish colored clay. I believe this is the type of clay that would have been used for red earthenware production and the manufacture of bricks in New England. I should also note that this is the color of how the clay appeared when it was raw or 'green'; however, when it was fired in a potter's kiln the clay body took on a reddish color - and, thus, why it is named red earthenware or redware today.

It's all theory and speculation at this point since I don't believe any type of  'clay digging' has been documented in the Newburyport-area before; however, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these pits are the result of potters or brick makers digging for clay years ago.

Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins briefly touches upon the idea of digging for clay in Newburyport in her book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' but I don't believe there has ever been a serious study of where the clay digging actually happened in Newburyport. I don't even know if this is a subject that has ever been attempted as a study before; although, I do feel that these pits (shown below) are possibly revealing to a local industry that no longer exists today.

I cited the following information in the previous article that I wrote about the clay that I found in Newburyport, but I figured I would mention it again since it certainly relates to this article. This is just an example of one potter and the process that he took to dig clay in Newburyport before 1800. For the record: the area that I show below is located to the southeast of the Old Hill Burying Ground in Newburyport.

According to Lura Woodside Watkins book 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' "As early as 1775, Ebenezer Morrison had built a kiln southwest of his house. The town fathers voted on March 15, 1775 'to grant Ebenezer Morrison liberty to setup a Potter's Kiln at or near the North West side of Burying Hill to be under the Direction of the Selectmen for the time being.'

The right of Ebenezer Morrison to 'Dig Clay near the Burying Ground ' was questioned at a meeting of the selectmen, August 11, 1784, and was referred to a committee for investigation. They recommended, March 16, 1785, that 'no person whatever be suffered to dig any clay or gravel upon the town's land near the town's burying ground. This regulation could not have interfered seriously with the potter's getting clay, as all of the land in the area seems to be one vast clay bed."

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

Newburyport, Mass. Had a Strong Red Earthenware Industry in the 18th-20th Centuries

Newburyport, Mass. Also Had a Brick Industry in the 19th-20th Centuries

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

  Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 Pit that is Near a Clay Source in Newburyport, Mass.

The Clay is Likely Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

Clay that is Seen on the Cliff to a Hill in Newburyport, Mass.

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

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Jug that was Recently Donated to the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society in Maine

An interesting nineteenth-century red earthenware jug was recently donated to the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society in Maine - the donor said the jug was originally found in a house in North Saco, Maine. They told the historical society that they felt it was made by the nineteenth-century potter, John Alld in Hollis, Maine - and, I agree with their attribution based on what I have seen in the past that has been attributed to Alld. I would also speculate that this jug was made during the circa 1840 period.

The speckled green and salmon-colored glaze is indicative to some of the glazes that Alld applied in Hollis Center; however, an object should never really be attributed on glaze alone. The defining features on an organized attribution should develop from the overall form. The features that stand out to me here that can be attributed to Alld's style are the rounded foot and the ovoid shape. Unfortunately, the handle is a real tell-tale sign on Alld objects - and, in this instance, the handle is missing. Although, it does help that I have seen this exact-style of glaze before on other Alld-attributed objects with a salmon-colored glaze decorated with green (copper) dots. I have also seen this same glaze on a nearly identical shaped jug before that was also attributed to Alld.

John Alld is a desired potter today - especially by Maine collectors. This was evident almost two-months ago at a recent Tim Gould sale in Augusta, Maine that saw two jugs (similar to the jug of discussion) sell for a combined $10,522.50 (not including sales tax). It was a surprising figure since the jugs did sell for less in different settings in recent years; however, Tim Gould's sales are highly regarded by Maine collectors, museums and antique dealers today as a place to purchase quality Maine-made antiques. Any type of object that has survived today from Alld's production is regarded as very-rare, which is a driving force (also, glaze color, skill and significance) of why prices are so strong today for this specific potter's work.

Interestingly, both of the jugs that sold at Tim Gould's recent sale stood seven-inches tall - the jug that was recently donated to the Buxton-Hollis Historical Society likely also stood about seven-inches tall if the handle and most of the jug's neck were not broken.

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Possibly Made by John Alld in Hollis, ME

Recently Found in a House in North Saco, ME

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 6 1/2" Tall

Base Measures 3 3/4" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: Buxton-Hollis (Maine) Historical Society - Buxton, ME

Another View of the Jug

Photo Courtesy: Buxton-Hollis (Maine) Historical Society - Buxton, ME

 19th Century Southern Maine Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to John Alld - Hollis, ME

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 7" Tall

Sold for $7,475 on October 24, 2015

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould Auctions - Augusta & Smithfield, ME

19th Century Southern Maine Red Earthenware Jug Attributed to John Alld - Hollis, ME

Circa 1820-1860

Stands 7" Tall

Sold for $3,047.50 on October 24, 2015

Photo Courtesy: Tim Gould Auctions - Augusta & Smithfield, ME

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

A Nice 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Discovered Today on the Mid-Coast of Maine

I would like to quickly show-and-tell a nineteenth-century red earthenware pitcher this evening, which I found while Christmas shopping on the mid-coast of Maine today. This particular object was discovered in a glass case in a shop in Wiscasset, Maine. The dealer told me that it was recently found in Portland, Maine; however, I believe that it was actually made closer to Essex County, Massachusetts during the circa 1780-1840 period. The characteristics that make me believe that this is where this pitcher was possibly made are the refinement of the product, the form, the handle and the glaze.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Possibly Made in Essex County, Mass.

Circa 1780-1840

Stands 6 1/4" Tall

Found Today in a Shop in Wiscasset, ME

Recently Found in Portland, ME

 Another View of the Pitcher

 View of the Handle

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

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

An Unexpected Clay Source Suitable for Red Earthenware Production Found in Newburyport, Massachusetts

Yesterday, I was on a bike ride in an area of Newburyport, Massachusetts that was known to have employed red earthenware potters and an art potter's business located within its vicinity during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries. The area was not too far from the oldest cemetery in Newburyport, either, - the Old Hill Burying Ground. The better-known local potter's businesses included the Daniel Bayley Pottery (circa 1766-1799), the Ebenezer Morrison (1741-1803) Pottery - and, Thomas Nickerson's Merrimac Pottery Company (1897-1908). All of these businesses were located directly southwest from where I took a break on my bike ride yesterday.

I ride my bike through this area of the city weekly; however, it had never really dawned on me until yesterday that this area may have been a local clay source, too. From my studies: I have revealed that these potters all dug their own clay with the exception of some of the clay that was used in the early-1900's at the Merrimac Pottery Company - which, was a high-end art potter's business that used local clay for red earthenware; however, Nickerson also reportedly imported a fine clay from Ohio for a finer type of earthenware production.

When I began to climb a hill with my mountain bike - I noticed that some of the ground appeared wet. It became apparent as I approached the area that the ground wasn't actually wet, but, rather, it was actually clay that was glistening as the late-morning sun shined on it. The clay appeared with a blueish-colored tint, which I knew was the type of clay commonly used in New England for red earthenware production. The clay doesn't take on a reddish-color until after it has been fired in the potter's kiln, hence the idea red earthenware or redware. I don't know why I had never noticed this before - never-the-less, the clay was everywhere. Based on this evidence - I assume that this area had to have served as a local clay source.

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins book, 'Early New England Potters and Their Wares,' "As early as 1775, Ebenezer Morrison had built a kiln southwest of his house. The town fathers voted on March 15, 1775 'to grant Ebenezer Morrison liberty to setup a Potter's Kiln at or near the North West side of Burying Hill to be under the Direction of the Selectmen for the time being.'

The right of Ebenezer Morrison to 'Dig Clay near the Burying Ground ' was questioned at a meeting of the selectmen, August 11, 1784, and was referred to a committee for investigation. They recommended, March 16, 1785, that 'no person whatever be suffered to dig any clay or gravel upon the town's land near the town's burying ground. This regulation could not have interfered seriously with the potter's getting clay, as all of the land in the area seems to be one vast clay bed."

 Hill in Newburyport, Mass. that Reveals a Clay Source

 Closer Look at the Clay Source

 An Even Closer Look at the Clay Source

 Ball of Clay that I Rolled Up from the Clay Seen on the (Bike) Path

 This Entire Area is Full of Clay that Appears Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

 This Entire Area is Full of Clay that Appears Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

This Entire Area is Full of Clay that Appears Suitable for Red Earthenware Production

Here are some of the products that are attributed to the potter's businesses that I cite above; unfortunately, the only known examples of pottery from Ebenezer Morrison's business are what Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins collected in the 1930's at the Morrison site in Newburyport. She found a number of sherds and kiln furniture at the Morrison site that resemble products that were also made at the Bayley Pottery, which is the result of potters working at both businesses. Honestly, it's uncanny how similar the slip techniques were when compared between these two eighteenth-century companies.

I don't believe there are any known products that are properly attributed to Morrison's output today. Although, it is assumed that since his wares were very-similar to what was produced at the Bayley Pottery that anything that has survived today, which resembles this type of production is attributed to the Bayley Pottery. My guess is that there are examples from the Morrison Pottery out there, but they are probably attributed to the better known Bayley Pottery today. The Morrison Pottery is virtually unknown.

I should note that I have shown a pair of red earthenware mugs below that I attribute to the Bayley Pottery, but I assume that an argument could also be made for the Morrison Pottery, too. The mugs have an early history of ownership in Newburyport.

- Mugs Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery

- But, An Argument Could Also be Made for the Ebenezer Morrison Pottery
- Also, Sherds from the Daniel Bayley Pottery

 18th Century Red Earthenware Mugs Attributed to the Daniel Bayley Pottery - Newburyport, Mass.
But, An Argument Could Also be Made for the Ebenezer Morrison Pottery, Too

Circa 1766-1799

Both Stand About 5 1/2" (Without the Lid)

Both Have Early Histories of Local Ownership in Newburyport, Mass.

View of the Very-Similar Handles

 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherds

Recovered at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Site in Newburyport, Mass. in the 1930's

Recovered by Lura Woodside Watkins

Circa 1766-1799

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

 18th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Chamber Pot Sherd

Recovered at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Site in Newburyport, Mass. in the 1930's

Recovered by Lura Woodside Watkins

Circa 1766-1799

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

- Thomas Nickerson's Merrimac Pottery Company

Merrimac Pottery Company Red Earthenware Vase - Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1897-1908

Stands Roughly 3 1/2" Tall

Measures Approximately 5 1/2" Wide

Found in a Shop in New Hampshire in 2013

Merrimac Pottery Company Red Earthenware Vase - Newburyport, Mass.

Circa 1897-1908

Stands 5 1/2" Tall

Found in a House on Cape Cod in 2015

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

The Continued Study of the Frey Pottery: The Whereabouts of this Talented Potter's Business

An idea that puzzles me is the whereabouts of the Frey Pottery. The Frey name is seen decorated (impressed) on a number of beautifully glazed hand-thrown red earthenware products today; however, the origin of that stamp does not appear to be well-documented. I have briefly written about this subject in the past, where there has been some museum attributions that suggest this mark belongs to the early-to-mid nineteenth-century Frey family of utilitarian red earthenware potters in Pennsylvania; unfortunately, I don't believe that is an accurate attribution.

When I visited the antique shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts a few months ago - I asked a Pennsylvania collector and dealer what he thought about a red earthenware lamp that was for sale by a Mid-Atlantic-based antiques dealer. The base of the lamp was stamped 'FREY.' He told me that he sees objects with this stamp every now-and-again - he also said that he thought they were French. Personally, I strongly believe that these are American-made objects produced during the art potter's movement during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-centuries.

The type of lamp base that I just simply described is reminiscent to similar lamp bases that were produced at the Merrimac Pottery Company (1897-1908) in Newburyport, Massachusetts and at the William Grueby Pottery (1894-1920) in South Boston, Massachusetts in the early-twentieth-century. Both of these companies also partnered with Tiffany in Boston, where Tiffany-made lamp shades were added to the pottery bases, which created some of the most extravagant American-made lamps known from the Arts & Crafts Movement today.

The reason that I have decided to revisit this subject, again is because of a characteristic that I noticed on a pair of red earthenware pitchers, which I wrote about last week. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City owns one of the pitchers - and, the other recently sold through a Willis Henry Americana Auction in Manchester, New Hampshire last summer. The origin of the object that was sold by Willis Henry was a bit of a mystery (to me) until I stumbled across the example that is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which the museum says was made during the circa 1850-1875 period in Pennsylvania. What I noticed about both of these objects is that their interior glazes appear to be a near perfect match to the interior glaze found on a prominent example of Frey Pottery that I own. All three objects share a dark colored interior glaze with mottled dark brown or black specks and what also appears to be specks of slip. Coincidentally, a related glaze is also found on some wares made in Nova Scotia during the late-1800's.

I also want to suggest that these pitchers may be from a later period than the museum proposes; they may date from the 1870-1890's period. My reasoning behind this theory is due to the shape - the pitchers seem to somewhat resemble an ancient-styled ewer, which was a form that was revived during the American Arts & Crafts Movement in the late-nineteenth and twentieth-centuries.

Now, with that said - I'm not saying that these pitchers are necessarily related to the Frey Pottery jar that I have pictured below, but I believe there could be a relationship in the region that each was produced, whether it being a Mid-Atlantic (or neighboring Midwestern) potter or a potter's business that actually operated in Pennsylvania.

A friend recently said to me that history can be forgotten as it travels from one generation to the next - if that information is not passed along then it can become a lost history. I believe that is what may have happened with the Frey Pottery.

I should also note that the cobalt decorated jar that is shown below matches another known example that is owned by the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. The folk art museum is where the Frey Pottery in Pennsylvania attribution began in an article that the museum published a little more-than ten-years ago. I believe that the 'FREY' Pottery objects that are known today could be from the Pennsylvania-area; however, they are not from the Frey family members that the museum cited that was employed before 1850.

Any help on this topic would be greater appreciated! I feel that identifying what exactly the Frey stamp stands for today could be an important subject to identify in respect to the transition that happened with the American utilitarian red earthenware industry as it progressed to the art potter's movement beginning in the fourth-quarter of the 1800's.

 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher with a Wonderful Glaze Attributed to Pennsylvania

Reportedly Circa 1850-1875

Stands 7 5/8" Tall
Gifted to the Museum by Robert Macauley Jackson in 1920

Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York City

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher with a Wonderful Glaze Attributed to Pennsylvania

Reportedly Circa 1850-1875

Stands 7 5/8" Tall
Earl Curry Collection

Photo Courtesy: Willis Henry Auctions - Marshfield, Mass.

 19th/20th Century Cobalt Decorated Red Earthenware Jar Made at the Frey Pottery

The Whereabouts of the Frey Pottery is Currently Unknown (To Me)

The Interior Glaze is Very-Similar to the Pitchers Discussed Above

Circa 1880-1930

Stands 11 1/8" Tall

Nearly Identical to an Example Owned by the American Folk Art Museum in New York City

 View of One of the Handles

 View of the Interior

 View of the Base and the 'FREY' Stamp

Closer View of the 'FREY' Stamp

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