A Collection of Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Owned by the Little Compton Historical Society in Rhode Island

Yesterday, I visited the Little Compton Historical Society in Rhode Island in order to view and study a large collection of red earthenware, which the museum owns. This collection is special since many of the objects were collected in the 1950s and 1960s based on a local history of ownership found in the southeastern corner of Rhode Island.

My focus was the types of wares that would have been made in southeastern Massachusetts during the circa 1765-1820 period; however, they would have been exported to the Little Compton area, where it appears that Rhode Island was a hotbed for products from Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

This is what I found: a large collection of southeastern Massachusetts pottery, which included jars, jugs, pitchers, a flower pot saucer, a tea bowl and a slip-decorated pan. Many of these objects are traditional forms commonly attributed to southeastern Massachusetts today, where a potter's industry was located to the west of New Bedford, Massachusetts. But this also helps confirm that the potters from this industry probably targeted the New Bedford and Rhode Island markets in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Interestingly, I have also included a small collection of red earthenware sherds, which were recovered within a circa 1790-1820 archaeological context at an eighteenth-century estate in Glocester, Rhode Island. Glocester is located in the northwestern section of Rhode Island. These sherds are also from objects, which were made at the potter's industry in southeastern Massachusetts.

Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society
Jars

Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jar

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

 Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jar

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jar

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jar

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Jugs

 Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jug

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Jug

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Flower Pot Saucer

Red Earthenware Flower Pot Saucer

Attributed to Barnstable, MA on Cape Cod

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Tea Bowl

 Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Tea Bowl

Circa 1765-1795

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

View of the Base

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Pan

Southeastern Massachusetts Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Dish or Pan

Circa 1765-1795

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Pitchers

 Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Pitcher

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

View of the Handle

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

  Southeastern Massachusetts Red Earthenware Pitcher

Circa 1780-1820

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

View of the Handle

 Photo Courtesy: Little Compton, Rhode Island Historical Society

Sherds Recovered in Gloucester, RI
Circa 1790-1820 Context

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered in Glocester, RI

 Recovered at an Estate in Glocester, RI

Recovered in a Circa 1790-1820 Archaeological Context

 Photo Courtesy: PAL Archaeology - Pawtucket, RI

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Sherds Recovered in Glocester, RI

  Recovered at an Estate in Glocester, RI

Recovered in a Circa 1790-1820 Archaeological Context

 Photo Courtesy: PAL Archaeology - Pawtucket, RI

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered in Glouester, RI

 Recovered at an Estate in Glocester, RI

Recovered in a Circa 1790-1820 Archaeological Context

 Photo Courtesy: PAL Archaeology - Pawtucket, RI

 Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered in Glocester, RI

 Recovered at an Estate in Glocester, RI

Recovered in a Circa 1790-1820 Archaeological Context

 Photo Courtesy: PAL Archaeology - Pawtucket, RI

Late-18th or Early-19th Century Red Earthenware Sherd Recovered in Glocester, RI

  Recovered at an Estate in Glocester, RI

Recovered in a Circa 1790-1820 Archaeological Context

 Photo Courtesy: PAL Archaeology - Pawtucket, RI

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

A Late-18th Century Philadelphia Red Earthenware Charger with a History of Ownership in Salem, Massachusetts

The export/import business, which involved eighteenth and nineteenth-century American red earthenware and stoneware potters is a subject that truly deserves a great deal of scholarship today. Undoubtedly, it happened, but the extent as to which it happened may not entirely be understood today.

For example: red earthenware made at the Daniel Bayley Pottery Company (circa 1764-1799) in Newburyport, Massachusetts has been recovered in colonial contexts at military forts in Maine and Canada. This is not by chance, either; there are eighteenth and nineteenth-century potter's who sold what they produced in both retail and wholesale environments.

Red earthenware made in Philadelphia in the late-eighteenth-century has been recovered in places, such as North Carolina, Virginia, New York City, Albany, New York and Boston - the following slip-decorated red earthenware dish was likely made in Philadelphia during the circa 1780-1810 period. However, it retains a history of family ownership in Salem, Massachusetts from the nineteenth-century.

Truthfully, I would be surprised to hear that red earthenware was imported into Salem during this period since Essex County, Massachusetts was loaded with red earthenware potters. But, in theory, this may be an example of a merchant, who imported a shipment of red earthenware to Salem from Philadelphia because they thought they could sell it based on the idea that it was routinely different, and it was "Made in Philadelphia." "Philadelphia Made Pottery" may have been a selling point with some merchants as a result of the city's storied history, and the perception that Philadelphia's ceramic industry was among the best in the country.

An advertisement from the Newport (Rhode Island) Mercury on June 22, 1767 likely explains how Philadelphia pottery was viewed elsewhere in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries: "Joseph Wilson - potter at the North End of Providence Informs the Public that he can Supply them with Earthen Ware at a Cheap Rate, made in the best Manner and Glazed in the Same Way as Practised in Philadelphia - All Persons in this Town may be regularly supplied by Means of the Boats which constantly pass between this Place and Providence."

Nonetheless, I do not exactly know why this dish appeared in Salem in the 1800's, but there are definitely a number of theories, which could probably be developed. Although, I thought the theory that I just provided may be a potential explanation for this dish's appearance in Salem.

 Late-18th Century Press-Molded Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Dish

Retains a 19th Century History of Ownership in Salem, Mass.

Attributed to Philadelphia

Estimated 14" in Diameter

Circa 1780-1810

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

 View of the Slip Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

 Another View of the Slip Decoration

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

View of the Back

Photo Courtesy: Peabody Essex Museum - Salem, Mass.

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

The Continued Study Into the Dodge Pottery in Portland, Maine

The Dodge Pottery in Portland, Maine is a late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century red earthenware potter's business, which very little is known about today. The background for this business came from Exeter, New Hampshire - and, as a result, the types of wares made in Exeter may provide a clue into how some of the wares appeared in Portland. But there must have also been a significant output since this company operated from the 1790's until the 1870's.

The Dodge Pottery was also not a country potter's business in Maine, where production was only a part-time operation. Instead, this was a full-time urban potter's business in an active maritime community with plenty of opportunity to sell red earthenware in a retail and wholesale environment.

It probably does not help, either that some of this business' known output has been mistaken for decades for products made at the Thomas Truxton Kendrick (1827-177) Pottery in Hollis, Maine. Even the Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine improperly attributes Dodge Pottery products to the Kendrick Pottery today. I do not know how the Kendrick attribution was developed, but it must have begun in the 1960's or 1970's.

Ultimately, I really want to unravel this mystery to determine what exactly was made at the Dodge Pottery, which was a multi-generational potter's business established by Benjamin Dodge, Sr. (1774-1838), and later managed by his son, Benjamin Dodge, Jr. (1802-1876). My feeling is that some of the unknown Dodge Pottery that exists may be generically attributed to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont or Massachusetts today.

I also truly hope that all archaeological evidence from this business was not lost in the 1970's when the State of Maine constructed Interstate 295 through the city. The construction forced the nineteenth and twentieth-century Portland Stoneware Company to relocate, and the Dodge Pottery was originally located near this business. It would be tragic if all the archaeological evidence was lost forever; although, I still feel that there must be some proof out there today that has been overlooked.

Nevertheless, these are the facts: It is known today that the Dodges produced a variety of skillfully made lidded jars, which are often referred to as spice jars. However, many of these jars were actually storage jars that were produced in various sizes.

The Dodges also applied some slip-decoration at their business, which is extremely rare for the nineteenth-century potter's industry in Maine. This fact may indicate that the Dodges were somehow involved with the potter's industry located a few miles north in North Yarmouth, Maine, where slip-decoration was sometimes applied on jars in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.

It is also known today that the Dodges developed a bright green-glaze that was applied on flower pots, which also proves that they used green-glazes. Coincidentally, sherds from two green-glazed flower pots were recovered in a nineteenth-century context in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Fundamentally, the Dodge's skill also leads me to believe that they had to have produced all the essential utilitarian red earthenware forms, such as pans, crocks, jars, jugs, cups, mugs, flower pots, etc.

I also own an accomplished red earthenware foot warmer with a strong southern Maine history, where the potter seems to have copied a matching stoneware form that was made at the J.T. Winslow Pottery in Portland in the mid-nineteenth-century. It only makes sense to say that this object was likely made at the Dodge Pottery in the 1850's, where Benjamin Dodge, Jr. likely got a hold of one of J.T. Winslow's foot warmers, and he decided to copy it. It is definitely a rare red earthenware form to find today.

Flower Pot Sherds from Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH

 Wonderful Green Glazed Red Earthenware Flower Pot

Excavated in Portsmouth, NH Near Puddle Dock

Possibly Made at the Dodge Pottery in Portland, ME
Possibly Made at the Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, NH

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH

Wonderful Green Glazed Red Earthenware Flower Pot Shersd

Excavated in Portsmouth, NH Near Puddle Dock

Possibly Made at the Dodge Pottery in Portland, ME
Possibly Made at the Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, NH

Photo Courtesy: Strawbery Banke Archaeology Dept. - Portsmouth, NH

Note: It was a similar scenario in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where Benjamin Dodge, Sr.'s brother, Joseph Dodge (1776-1849) purchased a pottery in Portsmouth in the late-eighteenth-century. He operated a successful potter's business, which his son, Jabez Dodge (b. 1804) eventually owned in the nineteenth-century. There is not a lot known about this potter's business today, either; however, the output at this business has been preserved by Strawbery Banke's Archaeology Department, which shows this was a full-time potter's business with a significant output for more than eighty-years.

In theory, I have also considered the idea that the Dodge potteries in Portsmouth and Portland may have worked together with production and sales.

Here is a link to an article that I wrote earlier this year about the relatively forgotten Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth.

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This is a creamer or small pitcher that is owned by the Maine Historical Society in Portland. The museum suggests that this could be an object made at the Dodge Pottery, but they are not certain of their attribution.

19th Century Red Earthenware Creamer or Small Pitcher

Possibly Made at the Dodge Pottery in Portland, ME

Stands Approximately 4" to 5" Tall

Circa 1820-1860

Photo Courtesy: Maine Historical Society - Portland, ME

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

A Signed 19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Teapot that Recently Appeared in Brimfield, Massachusetts

A really interesting black-glazed nineteenth-century red earthenware teapot showed up earlier this month with Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer, Greg Kramer, who setup at two of the antique shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Greg said he bought the teapot locally in Pennsylvania; however, there was a characteristic about this teapot, which may set it apart from other American-made products from the period.

Traditionally, this form would be attributed to Philadelphia today - but, the fact that the base was signed by the potter may suggest otherwise. Thus far, I have been unsuccessful trying to read the signature; although, it also appears like the teapot has been dated below the signature with the number, "28," which likely stands for the year, "1828."

Note: I have included a number of pictures of the teapot below, as well as a traditional formed Philadelphia example, which can be used as a comparison.

A Teapot Comparison

(Left) 19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot Probably Made in Philadelphia
Possibly Made by Thomas Haig (1812-1893) in Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Attributes a Similar Form to Thomas Haig

Circa 1840

(Right) 19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot with a Signature and Date on the Base

This Form would Normally be Attributed to Philadelphia Today
But the Signature May Suggest that it was Made Somewhere Else

Circa 1828

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

Signed and Dated Teapot

19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot with a Signature on the Base

This Type of Form would Normally be Attributed to Philadelphia Today

Circa 1828

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

Another View of the Teapot

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Spout

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Handle

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Lid

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Interior of the Base of the Lid

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Base

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

View of the Signature and the Date on the Base

Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer - Robesonia, PA

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

The Continued Study Into a 19th Century Red Earthenware Cow that Sold Last Weekend in Parsonfield, Maine

It turns out that a collector in Canada recognized the nineteenth century red earthenware cow that I posted yesterday, which I felt may have been an American-made form; although, the glaze definitely looked similar to some red earthenware objects that were made in Nova Scotia in the late-1800s. 

This particular cow was purchased last weekend from the lifelong collection of Nan Gurley, where it was sold by her children, Rachel and Josh Gurley at their mother's estate in Parsonfield, Maine.

Nan Gurley's daughter, Rachel told me that her mother had owned the cow for years - she said her mother kept it in a secretary in her office. I also assume that Nan probably acquired this cow somewhere in northern New England.

Tim Saunders, who is a collector in Bayfield, Ontario happened to have read the original article and he contacted me to say that he owned a similar formed and decorated red earthenware cow that was likely made by the same potter. His cow also retains a history of ownership in Ontario, where it is also believed to have been made in Canada in the late-nineteenth century.

Note: Here is a link to the original article that I published about this cow, which also discusses the Nan Gurley sale in Parsonfield, Maine.

Cow Owned by an Ontario Collector

19th Century Hand-Modeled Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Figure of a Cow
The Marbled Slip-Decoration was Likely Applied to Imitate a Cow's Spots
This Cow Has a Long History of Ownership in Ontario
Possibly Made in Canada in the Late-1800s
Size is Similar to the Cow Shown Below
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Tim Saunders - Bayfield, Ontario

Cow from Nan Gurley's Collection

19th Century Hand-Modeled Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Figure of a Cow
The Marbled Slip-Decoration was Likely Applied to Imitate a Cow's Spots
Possibly Made in Canada in the Late-1800s

Stands 2 1/4" Tall

Measures 4" Long
See Article for More Information

Purchased from the Nan Gurley Collection Last Weekend in Parsonfield, ME

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

A 19th Century Red Earthenware Cow Purchased from the Nan Gurley Collection in Parsonfield, Maine

I was the winning bidder on this nineteenth century marbled red earthenware cow last weekend at an onsite auction near the New Hampshire border in southern Maine. The auction was described by many as "an event," where the lifelong collection of Maine antiques dealer, Nan Gurley sold at an old fashioned onsite sale in Parsonfield, Maine.

I had asked Nan Gurley's daughter, Rachel Gurley during the auction, whether she knew anything about this object - and, she told me that her mother had owned it for years. She said she kept it in the secretary in her office.

I had originally posted this article writing that I did not know, where this object was made; although, it did seem like it could be American-made, but the glaze appeared like similar glazes that were produced in Nova Scotia in the late-1800s.

Nevertheless, Tim Saunders, who is a collector in Bayfield, Ontario happened to have read this original article and he contacted me to say that he owned a similar formed and decorated red earthenware cow that was likely made by the same potter. His cow also retains a history of ownership in Ontario, where it is also believed to have been made in Canada in the late-nineteenth century.

Note: Here is a link to an article written for 'Antiques and the Arts Weekly,' which tells a personal story about Nan Gurley, and her life's impact on collectors, dealers, family and friends, who she encountered in the  New England antiques industry. The newspaper also covered the sale - and, I was told by the writer that an article should be published in the next few weeks.

Onsite Sale in Parsonfield, ME

My Niece at Nan Gurley's Estate Sale in Parsonfield, ME

See Article for More Information 

My Niece at Nan Gurley's Estate Sale in Parsonfield, ME

See Article for More Information 

Red Earthenware Cow Purchased from Nan Gurley's Collection

19th Century Hand-Modeled Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Figure of a Cow

The Marbled Slip-Decoration was Likely Applied to Imitate a Cow's Spots

Stands 2 1/4" Tall

Measures 4" Long

Possibly Made in Canada in the Late-1800s

Purchased from the Nan Gurley Collection Last Weekend in Parsonfield, ME
See Article for More Information

Another View of the Cow

View of the Base

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

A Colorfully Glazed 19th Century Red Earthenware Cup Recently Found in Vasselboro, Maine

This is another object that I also recently acquired from Maine antiques collector and picker, Chris Havey. He said he discovered this colorfully-glazed red earthenware cup in a collectible shop in Vassalboro, Maine, which is a small community located in Kennebec County, and a few miles north of Augusta, Maine.

I am not going to provide an attribution for this object today; although, I will say that this object is extremely well made, and it was likely made in Maine during the circa 1840-1860 period. This is a rare form to find today, but it is even rarer to find this form decorated in such a colorful glaze.

Note: The base appears to be covered in a fatty substance, which likely indicates how this object was used in the nineteenth-century.

19th Century Red Earthenware Cup Likely Made in Maine

Recently Found in Vassalboro, Maine

Stands 2 1/2" Tall

Circa 1840-1860

View of the Interior

View of the Base

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