The Estate of the Late-Myrtle Reeve that Sold at Auction Last Weekend in Ontario, Canada

On March 18, 2016, Ontario auctioneer, Tim Potter sold the collection of the late-Myrtle Reeve at his auction gallery in Odessa, Ontario. According to the auctioneer, "We were asked by the executor of the estate of Myrtle Reeve, from Toronto, Ontario, to sell her personal collection of antiques put together over the past fifty-plus years. Myrtle and her late-husband opened their antique business in the early-1960's in Toronto. After her husband passed away at a young age, Myrtle continued in the business doing various shows across the province, and operated a retail outlet in Toronto. After she retired, she retained her interest in Canadiana and continued to collect both furnishings and collectibles of interest."

For me, the highlight of the auction was a hand-modeled red earthenware tree; although, I do not know the maker or the era that it was produced - but, the object does seem to show a bit of age. The form intrigues me since it may be a whimsical product produced by a utilitarian potter in the late-nineteenth or twentieth-century.

There was also a nineteenth-century earthenware poodle decorated with coleslaw fur, which was reminiscent to products produced by the Pennsylvania-Germans in the nineteenth-century. This object is likely evidence of the influence that was found in Ontario in the 1800's from the Pennsylvania-Germans, who migrated north into Ontario in search of opportunity after the Erie Canal opened in 1825. The poodle also reportedly descended in the family of an Ontario utilitarian potter.

A rare two-gallon stoneware jug decorated with a cobalt robin, stamped, 'James Massie & Co. / Guelph (Ontario)' was among the most-desired examples of pottery in the sale. It sold for $3,900 plus the buyer's premium. According to Maple Leaf Auctions in Carleton Place, Ontario, "James Massie was a merchant in Guelph, Ontario from circa 1863-1879." The robin decoration is very-rare on American or Canadian-made stoneware today.

A red earthenware pitcher produced in Ontario after 1850 also did well selling for $2,600 before any of the premium's were added to the final hammer price.

This is how the remaining group of pottery is described in the auction listing: "Table wares consisting of a selection of Portneuf-type china with mainly bird and animal decoration, a quantity of flow blue china, large blue on white transfer ware platters and pitchers, Staffordshire figures. a rare pottery spaniel in brown slip (purchased from the Lazier family of Prince Edward County), other examples of pottery dogs, crocks in both stoneware and redware including a rare two-gallon stoneware jug decorated with a Robin and signed James Massie & Co. Guelph, a floral decorated two-gallon crock marked Morton & Bennett, Brantford C.W., a one-gallon crock crudely signed John Walzs, XX, Lager Bier, Toronto. CW, a small stoneware bottle marked "J, Turner Ink Manufactory, Toronto", a stoneware bottle marked James Brown, redware to include a small pitcher, a mixing bowl, crocks, etc."

 Late-19th or 20th Century Red Earthenware Tree

Possibly Made in America or Canada

Photo Courtesy: Tim Potter - Odessa, Ontario

 19th Century Earthenware Spaniel with Coleslaw Decoration Probably Made in Canada
The Coleslaw Seems to Imitate a Type of Decoration Applied in Pennsylvania in the 1800's

Circa 1850-1900

Stands Approximately 9" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Tim Potter - Odessa, Ontario

Rare 2-Gallon 19th Century Stoneware Jug Decorated with a Cobalt Robin

This is an Extremely Rare Bird Decoration to Find on American or Canadian Stoneware Today

Stamped 'James Massie & Co. / Guelph (Ontario)'

Circa 1863-1879

Stands Approximately 12" Tall

Sold for $3,900 Before Premiums were Added

Photo Courtesy: Tim Potter - Odessa, Ontario

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Made in Ontario

Circa 1850-1880

Sold for $2,600 Before Premiums were Added

Photo Courtesy: Tim Potter - Odessa, Ontario

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

A Rare 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Recently Found in a House in Bath, Maine

According to 'The Middletown Press,' "The 43rd Annual Connecticut Spring Antiques Show, "An American Treasure Trove," returned to the landmark Hartford, Connecticut Armory this past weekend (March 19-20, 2016). The Haddam, Connecticut Historical Society, hosted the show, which was joined by some of the nation's most respected antique dealers.

Long known and admired for its focus on pre-1840 American furniture and decorative objects, the show featured over 60 dealers from New England and nationally. This year, the show added folk art to compliment early American pieces and accessories, to attract a larger audience and provide a wider selection of outstanding and unique objects.

The show also featured educational programs that seemed to have interested the majority of the attendees."

I did attend the show last weekend to pick up a piece of early-nineteenth-century red earthenware that Falmouth, Massachusetts antiques dealer, Hilary Nolan had recently picked from a house in Bath, Maine. The jar is decorated with wavy and straight line incised decoration, which was accomplished by the potter as the object turned on the potter's wheel.

This type of decoration is commonly attributed to Essex County, Massachusetts today; however, similar decoration was also accomplished at the Peter Clark Pottery in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, the Burpee family pottery in Boscowan, New Hampshire and in other parts of New Hampshire such as Moultonboro, New Hampshire. Although, it was also accomplished elsewhere in New England, as well.

Incised decoration is not quite an attributable characteristic to a single region or area in New England, but there are certain characteristics found in this technique that can narrow down the possible places of where an object could have been produced.

The width and depth of the tool that was used to accomplish this jar's incising suggests an Essex County potter (to me), but an argument could also be made for central New Hampshire.

This type of decoration is also extremely rare to find today on New England-made objects - and, it should be understandable, too that I share a strong interest in any such object when it becomes available in the marketplace. The last time that I saw a New England-made object (which was decorated with this type of incising) appear in the national antique marketplace was more-than three-years ago. It was an example that sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland - and, that object now resides in my private collection today.

Personally, I would compare this type of decoration to incised  or stamped eighteenth or nineteenth-century American-made stoneware, which is highly-desired by collectors, museums and dealers today. I honestly believe that this type of decoration, which is rarely found on New England-made red earthenware is actually rarer than incised or stamped stoneware today. I also believe that this type of decoration needs more appreciation when it is found on New England-made red earthenware objects from the nineteenth-century - it really shows a potter's attempt to add more decoration to a form that goes beyond glaze alone.

Below, I have shown two early-nineteenth-century objects that exhibit a similar-type of incised decoration. They are both attributed to Essex County, Massachusetts - they were also both found in Salem, Massachusetts. The first example is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and the second example is owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

 Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with Heavy Incised Decoration

Probably Made in Essex County, Mass.

Circa 1800-1840

Stands 7 1/2" Tall

Recently Found in Bath, ME by Falmouth, Mass. Antiques Dealer, Hilary Nolan

 View of the Interior

View of the Base

Crock Owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Early-19th Century Crock Attributed to Essex County, Mass.

Found in Salem, Mass.

Circa 1800-1840

Stands Approximately 7" Wide

Measures Approximately 10" in Diameter

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

 View of the Incised Lid

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

Crock Owned by the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Crock Attributed to Essex County, Mass.

Found in Salem, Mass.

Lura Woodside Watkins Collection

Circa 1800-1840

Stands 8 3/4" Tall

Photo Courtesy: The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

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

Extremely Rare 19th Century Tin-Glazed Products Made by American Red Earthenware Potters

According to the Maryland Department of Planning, "Tin-glazed earthenware is a soft-bodied earthenware ceramic with a lead-glaze to which has been added tin-oxide, often painted with blue and polychrome designs. Tin-glazed wares often found on Chesapeake sites are Dutch or English in origin, although French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish tin-glazed wares are also sometimes recovered. Tin-glazed ceramics represent attempts throughout the Middle East and West to copy porcelains produced in China, and were the first white, painted pottery produced in England. 

Tin-glazed earthenware was first produced in northern Europe in the sixteenth-century, although the technology was known elsewhere centuries earlier. In the Chesapeake, tin-glazed earthenware fragments are recovered from archaeological sites dating from the years of European settlement through the third-quarter of the eighteenth-century, when tin-glazed table wares began to be eclipsed by more durable refined  earthenwares. The production of tin-glazed wares in England had almost ceased by the early 1800's, although simple ointment jars and storage bottles were made well into the nineteenth-century"

The import of European tin-glazed products was not limited to the Chesapeake Bay communities, either, which include Maryland, Virginia and Delaware; however, I chose this location for the purpose of this article since it relates to one of the objects in this discussion. Truthfully, imported European tin-glazed ceramics have been recovered in seventh-and-eighteenth-century archaeological contexts that span nearly every major colonial maritime community, which includes New York City, Boston and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

However, tin-glazing is not a process that appears to have been attempted by many eighteenth or nineteenth-century American potters - it is actually almost unheard of with American potters today. To my knowledge, it was not attempted by any New England potters. The only examples of tin-glazed red earthenware that I am aware of today (excluding books and museums) have sold in recent years at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland - and, those few products are tied to the Bell family, who were prominent red earthenware and stoneware potters in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia in the nineteenth-century.

It should be no surprise, either that Crocker Farm has been consigned one of the few known tin-glazed American-made examples for their upcoming sale, which will take place tomorrow, Saturday March 19, 2016.

According to Crocker Farm, "This exceedingly rare and important Shenandoah Valley tin-glazed redware jar with profuse cobalt decoration is stamped 'I. BELL.' It was likely made in Winchester, Virginia or Hagerstown, Maryland." Also according to Crocker Farm, "The underside is impressed with the raised-face maker's mark of John Bell, which reads 'I. BELL,' a stamp used while Bell was still operating at the shops of his father, Peter Bell in Hagerstown, Maryland or Winchester, Virginia, circa 1820-1825."

 19th Century Tin-Glazed Red Earthenware Jar Decorated with Cobalt

Made by John Bell in Winchester, VA or Hagerstown, MD

Circa 1825

Stands 6" Tall

Stamped on the Base 'I. BELL'

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

 

View of the Raised-Face Mark 'I. BELL'

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

It was also about one-year ago that Crocker Farm sold another rare tin-glazed object made by John Bell with a similar 'I. BELL' mark; however, that mark was recessed, which according to Crocker Farm "was a maker's mark that John Bell used in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, circa 1830-1850. The raised-face mark was an earlier mark (as seen in the object above)."

The following, huge, six-gallon, tin-glazed jar with hand-decorated cobalt sold for $7,475 on March 14, 2015.

For a comparison, it will be interesting to see how the small tin-glazed jar does this weekend since it is from an earlier period of John Bell's production, and another state, which should cater to an additional market of collectors, dealers and museums. The small jar should not only draw interest from people in Pennsylvania, but there should be an overall interest from collectors, dealers and museums, who are located elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region.

 19th Century 6-Gallon Tin-Glazed Red Earthenware Jar

Made by John Bell in Pennsylvania

Circa 1830
Stands 14 1/4" Tall
Stamped 'I. BELL'
Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

Another View of the Jar

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

View of the Recessed Mark 'I. BELL'

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm - Sparks, MD

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

A Wonderful Red Earthenware Pitcher that was Recently Discovered in an Attic in Falmouth, Massachusetts

Quickly, I want to show this wonderful large nineteenth-century red earthenware pitcher that appeared on eBay this week. The form seems to be related to the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century coastal Massachusetts-made red earthenware pitchers, which I wrote about on March 16, 2016.

According to the antiques dealer, who is based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, "This antique American-made red earthenware pitcher was recently discovered in the attic of a Falmouth, Massachusetts home. We carefully cleaned the pitcher to reveal a mustard, tan and dark brown glaze, with a pale green-glaze on the inside of the rim and on the top of the handle. We have posted close up photographs so you can see every detail on this 10 5/8 inch tall by 7 1/2 inch pitcher. There are some rim chips around the top edge as well as a couple of very tiny flecks to the edge of the foot and some scratches. There are no other problems or any restorations to this exceptional American red earthenware pitcher."

Personally, I feel this pitcher is proof that there is still quality American-made red earthenware, and stoneware left to be discovered today in early-contexts of ownership.

Note: I would like to thank Cincinatti, Ohio antiques collector and dealer, Benny Kreiner for alerting me to this object.

Large Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher Likely Made in Massachusetts

Recently Discovered in an Attic in Falmouth, Mass.

Circa 1780-1830

Stands 10 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: eBay

Another View of the Pitcher

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Collar Around the Rim

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Glaze

Photo Courtesy: eBay

Another View of the Glaze

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Foot

Photo Courtesy: eBay

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: eBay

Another View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: eBay

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

A 19th Century Green-Glazed Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered at the Industrial School for Girls in Dorchester, Massachusetts

According to a recent Boston Globe article, written by Cristela Guerra titled, 'Searching for Secrets at School for Destitute Girls,' "Founded in 1853, the Industrial School for Girls operated 'for the purpose of training to good conduct, and instructing in household labor, destitute or neglected girls,' according to Bacon's Dictionary of Boston. Architect, George Snell designed the stately Dorchester building, which opened in 1859.

Paid for by mostly wealthy Bostonian women, the school annually housed an average of 30 girls between the ages of 6 and 15, who lived and worked inside the brick building, which still stands at 232 Centre Street (today)."

The following small green-glazed red earthenware sherd was recovered at the school last summer when Boston City Archaeologist, Joe Bagley, and a team of volunteers conduction a professional archaeological dig. This sherd was among the many artifacts that were recovered, which included a small collection of red earthenware flower pots that I believe were made in Peabody, Massachusetts in the late-nineteenth or early-twentieth-century.

Understandably, it could be suggested that this green-glaze appears like the green-glazes that were applied on red earthenware products made in southeastern Massachusetts in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth-centuries; however, I believe the archaeological context may be too-late to be associated with that industry today. I also believe that this sherd may be the remains of a green-glazed flower pot as evident by the small rim that is seen on the sherd.

I have briefly studied the ceramic collection recovered at the Industrial School for Girls, and it seems that the majority of the ceramics are late-nineteenth-century products imported from Europe. In general, the ceramics also exhibit very-little decoration. This sherd is the most exciting ceramic that I have seen, which was recovered; although, I also believe that this sherd is what is left of a coastal Massachusetts-made product.

Yes, there is an argument that can be made for a southeastern Massachusetts product; however, this type of green glaze was also accomplished elsewhere in New England, especially during the Industrial Revolution, and the Arts & Crafts Movement. Similar glazes can be found on late-nineteenth-century gardening products produced in Concord, New Hampshire, Newburyport, Massachusetts and likely even Peabody, Massachusetts. It is not unthinkable, either that a green-glazed product from any major New England-based red earthenware manufacturer could have traveled to the Boston-area in the 1800's.

Note: A similar green-glaze was also accomplished at the Dodge family pottery in Portland, Maine in the nineteenth-century, which operated until the 1870's. There are surviving flower pots properly attributed to the Dodge Pottery today that exhibit this type of green glaze.

Small 19th Century New England-Made Green-Glazed Red Earthenware Sherd 

Likely the Remains of a Flower Pot

Recovered at the Industrial School for Girls Site in Dorchester, Mass.

Uncovered in a Post-1859 Archaeological Context

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

Interior of the Sherd

Photo Courtesy: Boston Archaeology Department - West Roxbury, Mass.

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

A Group of Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers Likely Made in Southeastern Massachusetts

On August 11, 2013, Skinner held their annual summer Americana sale at their Marlborough, Massachusetts auction gallery located just off Route 495. There were a few examples of red earthenware included in the sale that were once owned by Charles D. Cook, who lived on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Cook was a prominent collector in the first-half of the twentieth-century. He owned outstanding examples of red earthenware from various eighteenth and nineteenth-century makers in New England; although, his preference appeared to focus with the potter's industry positioned to the west of New Bedford in southeastern Massachusetts. Southeastern Massachusetts was also the local red earthenware industry that was located nearest to where Cook lived on Cape Cod. There were dozens of potters employed in this region in the 1700's and the 1800's.

According to Skinner, "This early-nineteenth-century New England redware pitcher is decorated with a green-glaze, streaks of manganese and orange halos caused from minerals in the clay." Whereas, I actually believe this pitcher was made in southeastern Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth or the early-nineteenth-century.

A similar museum-quality red earthenware pitcher sold a few years prior at Northeast Auctions Annual Summer Americana Sale in 2011, which was held in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. The pitcher was consigned as part of a Boston-area medical doctor's collection. Formerly, this pitcher was also owned by Charles D. Cook. Northeast Auctions attributed this pitcher to the industry in southeastern Massachusetts during the late-eighteenth or early-nineteenth-century. It eventually sold to a prominent New York couple, who own a choice selection of American-made red earthenware today.

I should note that both of the mentioned pitchers originally sold through Skinner in the early-2000's when the Cook collection was consigned by the Cook family. Previously, Charles D. Cook's collection had remained with the family for almost one century. Skinner divided the collection over a few Americana sales held in Boston.

My reason for writing about these objects today is for a comparison to an object that I own, which I believe may also have been manufactured in southeastern Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth-century. Otherwise, it must have been made somewhere else along coastal Massachusetts; although, there are many notable similarities that seem to be related between these three pitchers.

My parents actually gave me the following large black-glazed pitcher (see below) as a birthday present a few years ago - they purchased it at a Pook & Pook sale in Downington, Pennsylvania. I would like to also add that the pitcher may have sold in Pennsylvania, but it was among a group of New England-made red earthenware, which had been privately consigned to a Pook & Pook Americana sale.

You should be able to notice that the following objects exhibit similar forms, similar rims, a similar ovoid shape, a similar footed base, a similar handle and two of the objects are also decorated with collars around the neck. There are also differences found in each object, but the comparisons appear to be related. The variation in the ovoid shape seen with the black-glazed pitcher may be a result of an early-manufacturer that predated the other two pitchers.

Pitcher Sold by Skinner in 2013

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to Southeastern Massachusetts

Ex-Charles D. Cook Collection - Cape Cod, Mass.

Circa 1790-1830

Stands 10 3/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Skinner - Boston & Marlborough, Mass.

Pitcher Sold by Northeast Auctions in 2011

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Attributed to Southeastern Massachusetts

Ex-Charles D. Cook Collection - Cape Cod, Mass.

Circa 1790-1830

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Northeast Auctions - Portsmouth, NH

Pitcher from My Collection

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Possibly Made in Southeastern Massachusetts

Circa 1770-1820

Stands 13 1/8" Tall

View of the Handle

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

A Rare Lidded Red Earthenware Jar Attributed to Maine that is Owned by Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware

Quickly, I want to show this small lidded red earthenware jar that is owned by Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware. The museum attributes it to Maine during the circa 1780-1820 period. It appears (to me) like a product that was produced in southern Maine; however, it is difficult to say exactly what business is responsible. Although, the glaze does appear like some glazes that were applied in the Buxton, Maine-area in the nineteenth-century.

For now, there is not much else to share about this object in terms of its history - nevertheless, I thought it was a rare form that was worth sharing today. Maine-made objects like this are very-difficult to find in today's marketplace.

 19th Century Red Eartheware Lidded Jar Attributed to Maine

Reportedly Circa 1780-1820

Stands 4 5/8" Tall

Photo Courtesy: Winterthur - Wilmington, DE

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Winterthur - Wilmington, DE

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