A Beautifully Glazed Red Earthenware Pot Recently Discovered at an Estate Sale in Maryland

Based on some information generated from a group discussion on Facebook this week, as well as other sources into the origin of a beautifully glazed nineteenth century red earthenware handled pot that I posted a few days ago, which was recently discovered at an estate sale in Maryland - it seems that the overall production of this pot may be a strong match for certain wares manufactured in Canada.

Unlike other areas of production in Canada, the refinement and form of this pot is in keeping with some wares produced in Ontario - and, although not normally a major characteristic used for an attribution, the wonderful spotted green-glaze found on this pot appears to be among the considerable factors in determining its origin. The pot also seems like it may have been influenced more-so by Germanic production, instead of English, like some Canadian pottery is known for today. I also don't believe there is a French influence, but could be wrong.

According to the book The William Eby Pottery, Conestogo, Ontario 1855-1907, "In 1804 George Eby moved from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Waterloo County, Ontario, and took up land in Lot No. 1 of the German Company Tract in Waterloo Township. There Samuel was born the next year as George's fifth child. 

Samuel Eby, later known as "Potter Sam," started a pottery and brick works at New Hamburg, Ontario. His two sons who were to follow the potting craft, William and Cyrus, were born in 1831 and 1844 respectively, and Samuel died in New Hamburg in 1847.

In January, 1855, William Eby (1831-1905) bought half an acre in lot 16, Concession 7E, Township of Markham, from Daniel Strickler, and established his first pottery as an individual proprietor. There is little information available on Eby's first operation; the site is presently the front lawn of a private residence. From even this, however we were able to gain some knowledge of his wares.

Eby remained in Markham for only two years, before moving to Conestogo in Waterloo County in 1857, a core of Pennsylvania-German Mennonite settlement in Ontario, acquiring somewhat over ten acres. The land may have included a working pottery and kiln, or a defunct, but still-equipped operation.

The Eby pottery was evidently a stable if not particularly prosperous business, and was certainly carried on in conjunction as the major family occupation. By 1867, William Eby and his wife had produced six children, including one who had died, aged seven in 1866.

With farming taking up the spring to fall months, pottery making was probably largely a winter venture, though clay would be mined, and perhaps wood stockpiled, at other times. Although children probably worked in the pottery from time to time, there is no documentary evidence of their having done so. With no more than one or two people turning pottery, probably a week's production was required to fill the kiln for firing. Once biscuit fired, the pottery was  then glazed and finally refired. Eby's kiln does not appear to have been prolific.

In 1857, when Eby departed Markham, the buyer of his land and pottery, John Byer there rented the operation to Philip Ensminger, who operated the pottery until 1862, after which it evidently stood vacant for a year. In 1864, Cyrus Eby (b. 1844), William's brother, then aged 20 rented the pottery from Byer, still the owner. Cyrus Eby ran the Markham operation for only three years. Then in 1866 Cyrus too departed for Conestogo, to go into partnership with his brother.

William and Cyrus Eby operated the pottery in partnership into the 1890s. Evidently over these years there was little increase in size of the physical plant or in business.

The finished wares were sold at the pottery to individuals who came by, but most of the production was sold through country general stores, and delivered from the pottery in a spring wagon.

William K. Eby seems to have been semi-retired about 1900, though the pottery was listed to him until his death in 1905, probably with son William (b. 1877) as actual potter. Upon Eby's death at the age of 74, William was not able to carry on alone, as his pottery and his skill at making the finer wares was evidently not up to his father's."

Archaeological excavations began at the site of the Eby family pottery in Conestogo in June of 1967, and continued into 1968, recovering a large assemblage of wares related to the Eby family's red earthenware production from 1857-1905. These artifacts are kept at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto today.

While I cannot definitively say that the handled pot, recently found at an estate sale in Maryland was made by the Eby family, I can say that its production closely resembles styles recovered by archaeologists at the site of the pottery. For instance, the refinement and thin walls of this pot are different than much of the Canadian pottery I have handled, although similar to the refinement of some styles produced by the Ebys, such as cups and saucers, pitchers and such.

Archaeological evidence has also revealed cups, jars, jugs and pitchers produced by the Ebys with interior and exterior surfaces entirely glazed, including the base, much like the pot of discussion. Some objects were also manufactured with rolled rims, similar to the style of this pot.

Interestingly, the overall body shape of this pot and lack of a footed base is a known style of some pitchers manufactured in Ontario, except this pot was made without a pouring spout, suggesting it may have been intended for a different purpose, like a stew pot.

I had also noted in the original post showing this pot that the handle looked like some handles manufactured in Western New York, which Ontario happens to border.

Nevertheless, glazes are typically less important when identifying an origin for utilitarian pottery, but there appears to be an exception in this case, seeing that this glaze is a known style manufactured in Ontario, as evident in published examples, as well as objects kept in some Canadian museums. Although, this particular glaze is notable since the end result seems to have been intentional.

According to the book, Early Canadian Pottery,"The Germanic Potters both in Ontario and around Lunenberg, Nova Scotia (although probably happened elsewhere in Ontario as well) often used a copper-green additive in their lead glaze and orange speckling that was achieved by sprinkling iron rust powder onto the glaze while it was still wet (which is certainly how this pot appears to have been glazed)." 

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot with a Distinguished Spotted Green-Glaze

 19th Century Red Earthenware Handled Pot Possibly Made in Canada
Possibly Manufactured in Ontario

Stands Only 5 1/2" Tall

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 Another View of the Pot

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 Another View of the Pot

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View of the Handle

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View of the Handle

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View of the Interior

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 View of the Base

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Other Ontario Examples with a Similar Spotted Green-Glaze

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with a Rolled Rim and a Very Similar Glaze

Attributed to Daniel Orth - Lincoln County, ON

Circa 1851-1900

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Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History

Another View of the Jar

Notice the Contrast in Glaze Similar to that Found on the Pot Above

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Photo Courtesy: Canadian Museum of History

 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar with a Similar Spotted Green Glaze
Attributed to Waterloo County, ON
Circa 1840-1860
Stands 18 1/4" Tall
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Photo Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum

Another View of the Glaze

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Photo Courtesy: Royal Ontario Museum

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

19th Century Stoneware Temperance Jug in the Collection of the Missouri Historical Society

The most famous of all the temperance stoneware jugs produced in America in the nineteenth century may very well be a snake jug displayed at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan, and made at the Cornwall Kirkpatrick (1814-1890) and Wallace Kirkpatrick (1828-1896) pottery (active 1859-1896) in Anna, Illinois, circa 1871. The jug was gifted to the museum in 1906 by Sarah (Edwards) Nast, the wife of caricaturist and editorial cartoonist, Thomas Nast (1840-1902).

According to the New York Historical Society, "Political cartoonist Thomas Nast published biting caricatures in Harper's Weekly (1857-1916) that exposed the corruption at Tammany Hall, the political machine that controlled New York City in the mid-nineteenth century.

This has also been a subject of interest for the Museum of the City of New York, "Tammany Hall, the New York Democratic political organization was founded in the eighteenth century, and is now best known for its scandals, corruption, embezzlement, fraud, and rigged elections. At the heart of it all was William Magear "Boss" Tweed (1823-1878), the corrupt man and state senator (served 1868-1873) behind the Tammany Hall political machine from the height of its power in 1868 to its eventual downfall in 1871. It is estimated that he defrauded the city out of $30 million to $200 million dollars (equivalent to $365 million to $2.4 billion dollars today). He eventually died in the Ludlow Street Jail in New York City in 1878."

Also according to the New York Historical Society, "The potters Cornwall and Wallace Kirkpatrick presented this jug to Nast about 1871 in recognition of his efforts. The jug's swirling snakes represent the corruption at Tammany Hall; the serpents feature the faces of ringleader William M. "Boss" Tweed and his cronies."

However, temperance jugs were not exclusive to the pottery in Anna; for instance this type of jug was made at other potteries in the Midwest, such as known examples from Indiana and Texas. This same statement can also be said for the famous Anna Pottery pigs, which were imitated and produced elsewhere in the Midwest.

While recently studying some of the red earthenware and stoneware in the collection of the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis, I came across this snake jug made at the John M. Jegglin Pottery in Boonville, Missouri, circa 1867-1890.

According to the book The Arts and Architecture of the German Settlements in Missouri: A Survey of Vanishing Culture, published by the University of Missouri Press, "The Jegglin Pottery, owned by John M. Jegglin, a native of Wurttemberg-Baden, Germany where he learned the potter's trade, went to Boonville before 1856, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and shortly afterward established a stoneware pottery on the west side of Seventh Street, between Spring and Locust.

In 1870 his works represented a capital investment of $1,000, and with one hand and one horse (to turn the pug mill for mixing the clay), he produced wares valued at $1,500. Ten years later he increased production to $10,000 a year and his working force to twelve men, who received wages totaling $6,000 a year.

Before 1881, having learned of the excellent clays found near Calhoun, Henry County, Missouri, he purchased an interest in a pottery and clay pits there and sent one of his sons, George A. Jeglin to work there in partnership with Mr. Reeves. Six months later he bought out Reeves, and George continued operating the works until sometime after 1896.

During his father's lifetime, much of the clay used in the Boonville plant was shipped from the Henry County pits. Workmen at Calhoun included a number who had come from the family pottery in Boonville where one of these, L.F. Simpson, had turned stoneware, made molds, and had also been a traveling salesman for the works. 

Shortly before his death in 1892, the senior Jegglin transferred his Calhoun property to a son, G.A. Jegglin, and his Boonville pottery to two other sons, E.A. and Hermann Jegglin, but, as the former explained it, after some years "we broke up (Hermann) lived too high. He later went down south and ran a big pottery there."

In 1938, when E.A. Jegglin was 80, he reminisced about his experiences, mentioning the various wares produced in the plant: the pig banks he had molded, the hatpin holders, pottery rose jars, flowerpot urns, jelly jars and other pieces. "The last kiln I burned was on May 11, 1897," he said. "I burned some bricks and put a little jug that I still have with the date marked on it."

19th Century Stoneware Temperance Jug from Boonville, MO

19th Century Stoneware Temperance Jug

Made at the John M Jegglin Pottery in Boonville, MO

Circa 1867-1890

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Photo Courtesy: Missouri Historical Society

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

Marbled Red Earthenware Platters in the Collection of Winterthur in Delaware

While recently touring the red earthenware and stoneware collection at Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, I viewed two great examples of late-eighteenth or nineteenth century marbled red earthenware. To my knowledge, the exact potter's business (or businesses) has not been identified for this brand of production; although, it has been debated over the years that this may have been a style produced in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Western New York or maybe even Pennsylvania.

But it should also be noted that marbled wares were not exclusive to any single region - it's the combination of the form and colors used on these objects, which has been a topic of interest for decades.

However, I was rather surprised to learn a few years ago that this style of production has also been recovered within two separate archaeological contexts on Long Island in New York. I have written about both plates, one of which was recovered on Shelter Island, which is located on the eastern end of Long Island, and the other was discovered inside an old foundation hole in the 1970s in central Long Island.

Understandably, the shape of the plates found on Long Island are different than the platters seen here from the collection of Winterthur, even though the choose of colors are quite similar. Whether the plates were made on Long Island is unproven; but on the other hand the discovery of these plates is certainly intriguing, seeing that the marbled plate found on Shelter Island is not far from a previously undocumented nineteenth century pottery in Greenport, New York, which I recently wrote about on this website.

This style of marbled platter is rather rare to find; for instance, there are only so many examples known in museum and private collections. In spite of that, Winterthur's platters are unquestionably among the best known to exist today, a style of production that is also among my favorite produced anywhere in America.

Note: For more information about the marbled plates recovered on Long Island - I suggest a feature story I wrote for the October 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest, titled, The Red Earthenware Available in the 18th and 19th Centuries in New York City.

Marbled Red Earthenware Platters in the Collection of Winterthur

Late-18th or 19th Century American Marbled Red Earthenware Platter

Measures 13 5/8" Long

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Another View of the Marbled Platter

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Late-18th or 19th Century American Marbled Red Earthenware Platter

Measures 14 5/8" Long

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

Another View of the Marbled Platter

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Photo Courtesy: Winterthur

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

Colonial French Pottery Recovered at the Site of Fort Toulouse in Alabama

According to the Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson Historical Park in Wetumpka, Alabama, "In 1717, Fort Toulouse served as the eastern-most outpost of the French colony of Louisiana. The French intended that the fort secure the friendship of the populous Creek Confederacy and make French policy known, while keeping the soldiers and the interests of the British empire out of the region. The Alibamu Indians, who were a part of the Creek confederacy, invited the French to build a fort here. Most Creek villages remained officially neutral so they could bargain with the British and French for better prices in the deerskin trade. British and French rivalries came to a head with the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754. With the French defeat, the 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded Louisiana to Britain and Spain. French soldiers and their families moved west of the Mississippi River to live among the Spanish in Opelousas, Louisiana.

Between 1717 and 1763, the French built three forts in succession as the relentless Coosa River washed the first two away. As French soldiers brought their families here, they built some of the very first farms in what is now Alabama around Fort Toulouse. The sons of  these families grew up to be French soldiers during the 46 years of the fort's existence. Sons and daughters of French soldiers married, creating large extended families within the Fort Toulouse garrison. 

With the outbreak of the Creek War phase of the War of 1812, American forces built a fort over the old site of Fort Toulouse. In May of 1814, Andrew Jackson came here to the forks of the Coose and Tallapoosa Rivers with United States Army regulators and militia units from Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee after the bloody battle of Horseshoe Bend, where the power of the Red Stick faction of the Creeks was broken. In August the Treaty of Fort Jackson was signed over 15 million acres of Creeks land to the US. government, which soon opened up much of Alabama to American settlers. Alabama became the 22nd state five years later."

Archaeological excavations began at the site of Fort Toulouse in 1972, continuing through 1980, with additional excavations taking place from 1984 until 1996. The recovered artifacts include many native objects, dating well-before the French occupied the area, such as 8,000 year old projectile points. Although, the bases of quartered and charred timbers dating from the 1751-1763 period of the fort were discovered, along with a variety of objects owned by the occupants of the fort, such as a brass kettle, a pewter or latten spoon, an English pipe, a French wine bottle, a Bohemian engraved glass tumbler (probably French), and an iron fork with a two piece bone handle (see black and white photo below).

But examples of imported Colonial eighteenth century French pottery were also recovered within the 1751-1763 archaeological context; for example, I have posted two of those objects below: 1) a large red earthenware bowl with a lead glazed interior, and 2) a faience plate with a simple decoration in the center.

Seeing this French pottery is exciting for me living in New England, since I have viewed similar wares from comparable archaeological contexts in places like Maine, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Colonial French Pottery Recovered at the Site of Fort Toulouse

18th Century French Lead Glazed Red Earthenware Bowl

Recovered by Archaeologists from the Site of Fort Toulouse 

Circa 1751-1763

Also Illustrated Top Right in the Photo Posted Below

Photo Courtesy: Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Dept. of Archives and History

(Front Middle) 18th Century French Faience Plate

Recovered by Archaeologists from the Site of Fort Toulouse 

Circa 1751-1763

Photo Courtesy: Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Dept. of Archives and History

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

19th Century Red Earthenware Pipe Found in Central New Hampshire Retaining a Pewter Lid and Stem

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "Besides the potteries for the manufacture of household utensils in New Hampshire, there was in East Alton near the Wolfeboro line a factory that made nothing but red earthenware (it has been discovered since Watkins' book was published that they also produced kaolin) tobacco pipes. This establishment was begun in 1864 by one John Taber (1829-1912), who was not a native of the town. 

Taber bought land from Enos Rollins and put up a sizable building near Lake Winnipesaukee. Taber brought with him a crew of about thirty workmen. 

One reason why we do not run across many of these pipes locally is that Taber shipped his product out of state, sending it down the lake by boat and thence to New York and other points by train. There are, however, at the pottery site to show clearly what the pipes were like. All were cast in molds that were a good step beyond the crude pipes that Taber had previously made in Wells, Maine."

Furthermore, Watkins also wrote about the production of pipes in Wells in Early New England Potters and Their Wares, "An establishment devoted wholly to the production of red earthenware pipes was in existence in Wells before 1861. I first learned of the pottery from a friend, when I secured from him one of the pipes he had picked up on the refuse pile near the ruined buildings when he was a boy. He told me that a man named Taber operated the works. It stood on the road from Wells to Sanford about one-half mile east of the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks. The Wells pipes were designed to accommodate a hollow twig for a stem."

Although, it is lesser known today that pipes were also manufactured at the Brooks family pottery in North Yarmouth (became known as Yarmouth after 1849), Maine. The whereabouts of the machine used to make the pipes is known today.

The Brooks family pottery was established by Joel Brooks (1799-1874) sometime around 1827. This information was published in the Portland (Maine) Advertiser: "Joel Smith Brooks was born in 1799 and he married Susan Soule of North Yarmouth, who was a few years older than her husband, and they had five daughters and two sons, one of whom, John Edward Brooks (b. 1831), became a potter and eventually succeeded to the business. Their other son, George W. Brooks, became a blacksmith and went to California."

While Christmas shopping earlier this month, my niece, Alexis and myself found this intact nineteenth century red earthenware pipe retaining a pewter lid and pipe stem inside a small shop in central New Hampshire. We asked the shop keepers if they knew where the pipe was found; they said they did not know the specifics, but they said the dealer was from the area, and most of the material he finds is found locally.

Knowing this information, I believe this pipe could represent production from either of the Taber businesses in Maine or New Hampshire, but it may have been produced at the Brooks family pottery in North Yarmouth, as well.

Note: Here is a link to an article I posted almost one year ago, showing a glazed red earthenware pipe attributed to the John Taber Pottery in East Alton, New Hampshire. The pipe was discovered by Chris Havey inside a wall of a nineteenth century blacksmith's shop in Dunbarton, New Hampshire.

Recently Discovered Red Earthenware Pipe Found in Central New Hampshire

My Niece Alexis Holding the Pipe, Which Retains a Pewter Lid and Its Stem

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19th Century Red Earthenware Pipe Found in Central New Hampshire

Possibly Made in New Hampshire of Maine

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

A Wonderful 19th Century Red Earthenware Handled Pot Recently Found in Maryland

This is an excellent nineteenth century red earthenware handled pot, which I just acquired from an antiques dealer in Maryland. Although, the dealer told me that she recently found it at an estate sale, also in Maryland.

The size and refinement of this piece are remarkable, standing only five-and-one-half inches tall. In New England, we typically refer to this form as a stew pot of some sorts, and that's how I suspect this pot was originally used.

I'm not positive if this pot is American or from Ontario, but this is a very desirable glaze produced all over, even though it is often attributed to production in Illinois and New Hampshire today. The base has also been glazed, which may eventually help narrow down the attribution.

Interestingly, the handle does look American and is very similar to some objects I own produced in Western New York, such as a slip-decorated pitcher in an unrelated form made at the Nathaniel Rochester Pottery in Rochester, New York, decorated with a very similar spotted green glaze.

However, I'm posting this pot tonight just to show how it appears, seeing this is a really beautifully decorated refined piece with a wonderful rolled rim. Hopefully in the future I can present more specific information about its origin.

19th Century Red Earthenware Pot with Spotted Green Glaze

 My Six Year Old Niece, Alexis Demonstrating the Size of the Pot

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 19th Century Handled Red Earthenware Pot with a Rolled Rim

Stands Only 5 1/2" Tall

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 Another View of the Pot

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 View of the Handle

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 View of the Base

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View of the Interior

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

19th Century American Red Earthenware Jug Recovered from a Well in New Orleans

Mixed in among all of the articles I have posted on this website are a group of stories that document some of the various wares manufactured along the Mississippi River, in places like Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. In fact, some of the pottery manufactured in the Mississippi River region can be misinterpreted for wares made elsewhere today, especially with the states located to the east of the river.

But I also recently wrote an article about the Wreck of Arabia, a steamboat built in Pennsylvania in 1853, which sank in Kansas City in 1856. When this boat and its contents were rediscovered in the twentieth century, "They found remarkably preserved pioneer clothing, guns, knives, tinware, buttons, glass scroll flasks, oil lamps, glassware, Rockingham doorknobs, American stoneware pipes, hinges, bed keys, wooden clothes pins, wooden buckets, mirrors, tools and so much more. Entire crates of imported China were perfectly preserved, the straw they were packed in yellow and dry. There was food which, though probably not appetizing, was still edible, including 29 jars of pickles."

Nonetheless, the Mississippi River was a major resource utilized for trade in the nineteenth century, bordering and running through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

While recently searching through the pottery listings on ebay, I came across this fascinating nineteenth century red earthenware jug. According to the seller, "The jug was dug many years ago from the bottom of a well on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans. The jug is believed to have been manufactured during the circa 1840-1860 period."

Tulane Avenue is located only a few blocks from the Mississippi River, which is how I assume this jug found its way into New Orleans in the 1800s, seeing this doesn't appear to be a type of local production. Although, I believe this jug was likely manufactured in a community with access to the river, probably having been produced by a Midwestern or Southern potter. That access could have included the actual pottery business or a merchant who peddled wares throughout the region.

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, "New Orleans, like most waterside cities, was founded because of its close proximity to the Mississippi River that provided much economic benefit.

In its "golden age," New Orleans was known as the "marketplace of the wealth of the West" because of its strategic location at the center of trade between cultures and goods. The popular expansion of steamboat use in the early 1800s revolutionized transport along the river, basically creating the huge river transport industry that is in existence today. Trips from St. Louis to New Orleans that used to take four months now took only three days by steamboat. By 1853, the thriving New Orleans was one of the five largest metropolises in the United States. Unfortunately, the city did see a decline, as a result of the Civil War and the invention of the railroad."

Red Earthenware Jug Recovered in New Orleans

19th Century Red Earthenware Jug Recovered in New Orleans

Probably Manufactured by a Midwestern or Southern Potter

Reportedly Recovered Within a Circa 1840-1860 Context

Stands 9" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: ebay

Another View of the Jug

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Photo Courtesy: ebay

Another View of the Jug

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Photo Courtesy: ebay

View of the Handle

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Another View of the Handle and the Rim

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Another View of the Handle

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View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: ebay

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