Since posting
an article last week about this Albany slip glazed pot with twisted rope handles and two slip-decorated flowers, I have heard from multiple persons saying that it was made by the Hyssong family in central Pennsylvania. The pot was found decades ago by Scott Tyson, a Pennsylvania antiques dealer who now lives in Florida. He says he found the pot in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area and sold it to
Robesonia, Pennsylvania antiques dealer Greg Kramer. I purchased the pot last month from Greg who kept the pot inside his house ever since he purchased it more than 20 years ago.
According to a book published in 1915,
Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties Pennsylvania Containing A Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families: "Austin L. Hyssong has carried on a pottery business at Bloomsburg for over twenty years, during which time he has had to enlarge his original plant to accommodate the profitable trade he has built up in stoneware, stovepipe, collars, flowerpots and similar goods. His father, Elisha B. Hyssong, followed the same calling.
Elisha B. Hyssong (1827-1873) was a native of Franklin
county, Pa.‚ and was there bound out in boyhood to learn the potter's trade, serving four
years as an apprentice. Later he went to Cassville, Huntingdon Co.‚ Pa.‚ where he first
worked as a jouneyman, and there he married Rachel E. Green, a native of Huntingdon County. When he built a pottery of his own
he had to clear the location, and that plant
was carried on by the Hyssong family for nearly sixty-five years, Elisha B. Hyssong continuing to operate it until his death, in 1873,
after which his son Bruce took it, running the
business until the spring of 1912.
Mr. Hyssong was a much esteemed citizen of his
neighborhood, where he was very well known
not only in his business relations but also because of his activity in politics, the administration of public affairs and church work. He
was a
justice of the peace for over twenty
years, a
stanch Republican in political sentiment, and a
lifelong member of the M. E.
Church, which he served officially for over
forty years, being deacon, elder, class leader
and Sunday school superintendent. In his
prime he was a
noted singer, and music afforded him one of his chief sources of enjoyment. He died beloved by all who knew him,
and his wife, who still survives, continues to
make her home at Cassville. Twelve children
were born to their union, ten reaching maturity, namely:
Annie, who
is
living in Pitcairn, Pa.;
Jennie, now deceased;
Martha,
widow of Oliver Beaver, of Altoona, Pa.;
Bell, at home with her mother; Margaret, married and living in Philadelphia;
Austin L.;
George, of Altoona, Pa., who became a
potter
(he
is married);
Bruce, also a
potter, now
engaged
in the crucible factory at Philadelphia,
who married Jennie Horton;
Russell, who
learned the potter's trade, now employed as
a
guard in the reformatory at Huntingdon;
and Alice, who died unmarried.
Austin L. Hyssong (1851-1922) was born Dec. 25, 1851,
at Cassville, Huntingdon Co., Pa., where he
acquired a
common school education in youth
and early commenced to learn the potter's
trade with his father, and he has always followed it. Remaining with him until he attained his majority, he then went to Lewistown, Pa., where he was located most of the
time for the next twenty years, for several
years running the Dipple pottery there. He
was at Lewistown for the four years following his marriage, spent the next year at Peterburg, Pa., returned to Lewistown for two
years, and then did business
in
Huntingdon
for three years. Going back to Lewistown he
formed a
partnership with
J.
& C. Dipple, with
whom he was associated four years. In 1891
he came to Bloomsburg and purchased from
John Rehm the plant he has ever since operated. During his ownership
it
has been considerably enlarged, and many valuable improvements have been made in the property.
Mr. Hyssong's patronage has been extended
steadily, his wares being sold in various sections, and besides manufacturing he deals
quite extensively in terracotta sewerpipe, for
which he has found a
good demand in the
local market.
In 1875 Mr. Hyssong was married to Anna
Margaret Dipple, daughter of John and Margaret (Peters) Dipple, of Germany. The
father, who was a potter by trade, settled at
Lewistown and operated a pottery there until
his death, in 1872. He was killed while crossing the Pennsylvania railroad track, on his
way to dig clay. His wife, who survived until
1903, ran the business he established for several years after his death. Mr. and Mrs.
Dipple had six children: Anna Margaret, Mrs. Hyssong; Anna, widow of James Irwin,
of Lewistown, Pa.; Ida, who married William
Miller, of Lewistown; John, deceased, who
was a potter and worked with his father;
Andrew G. C.‚ who owns the old pottery his
father established at Lewistown; and Charles,
who was formerly in the grocery and confectionery business, now a mail carrier at Lewistown.
Five children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Hyssong:
Charles has always worked as a potter and is engaged with his father; John,
a carpet weaver, now settled in Philadelphia,
married Nettie Cashner, and they have four
children, Robert, Martha, John and Ruth;
Walter, who died when twenty-fours year old,
learned the trade of potter, but afterwards
worked as a machinist at the locomotive works
of the Standard Steel Company, at Burnham,
Pa.; Irwin, a resident of Bloomsburg, who
also learned the potter's trade, married Mary
Beagle, and they have three children, Robert,
Edna and Esther; Wilbur, who worked with
his father in the pottery until twenty years
old, and has been a machinist in the government employed at Washington, D. C., for the
last two years, married Estella Knepp and has two children, Margaret and Estella."
Some of this information was also published in 2002 when author Phil Schaltenbrand wrote the book,
Big Ware Turners: The History and Manufacture of Stoneware in Pennsylvania. Although, the most significant of the wares made by the Hyssongs may be a
monumental stoneware double-sided face pitcher that was consigned to
Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in March 2017. The pitcher was reportedly made by Elisha B. Hyssong about 1850 in Cassville, Pennsylvania, and seems to possibly demonstrate a Baltimore and Philadelphia influence in its appearance.
But as I noted earlier, I was contacted by some generous people last week who told me that this lidded pot with twisted rope handles and two slip-decorated flowers was made by the Hyssong family in central Pennsylvania. In fact, Randy Hoffman who collects Pennsylvania pottery, especially the wares made in central Pennsylvania told me that he owned an Albany slip glazed flowerpot made by the Hyssongs decorated with the same slip-decorated flower.
Interestingly, the information that I cited above indicates that the Hyssongs used multiple types of clay, especially Austin who likely made the lidded pot and the flowerpot of discussion; those wares include traditional stoneware that appears gray in color as well as terracotta which appears reddish in color.
This pot as well as the flowerpot that I mentioned are both decorated with an Albany slip glaze, a style of glaze typically associated with stoneware production in America, and rarely found on red earthenware because of the high temperature needed to melt pure Albany clay into a slip glaze. But the clay body found on both of these objects is red, especially where both pieces have been damaged exposing the interior clay appearance.
Both objects are also porous meaning that the clay absorbs a liquid rather than the liquid running off like it would on more typical stoneware. I am not sure what to make of these pieces at the moment, in terms of their clay makeup, but I think they are both great examples of central Pennsylvania pottery production. I also want to acknowledge the fact that the form of this lidded pot is quite rare today, and some longtime collectors and dealers have said that they have never seen this form before.
Lidded Pot Reportedly Made by the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
My Niece Alexis Holding the Lidded Pot
See Article for More Information
Late 19th Century Pot with an Albany Glaze, Twisted Rope Handles and Slip-Decorated Flowers
Reportedly Made by the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
Likely Made by Austin L. Hyssong (1851-1922)
See Article for More Information
View of One of the Twisted Rope Handles
See Article for More Information
View of the Other Handle
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View of the Other Slip-Decorated Flower
See Article for More Information
View of the Base of the Lid and the Pot
See Article for More Information
Flowerpot Attributed to the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
Late 19th Century Flowerpot with an Albany Glaze and a Slip-Decorated Flower
Attributed to the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
Likely Made by Austin L. Hyssong (1851-1922)
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Hoffman
View of the Slip-Decorated Flower
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Hoffman
View of the Unglazed Interior
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Hoffman
View of the Base
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Hoffman
Another Flowerpot Attributed to the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
Late 19th Century Flowerpot with an Albany Glaze and a Slip-Decorated Flower
Attributed to the Hyssong Family in Central Pennsylvania
Possibly Made by Austin L. Hyssong (1851-1922)
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Bohn
Another View of the Flowerpot
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Randy Bohn
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
