A Great 19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot with Tulips Manufactured Near Milwaukee, Wisconsin

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, "Conrad Langenberg (1830-1899) was a German trained potter before he relocated to the German Calvanist settlement of Franklin, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin in 1855 (at the time known as Lipper's Mills). Using red earthenware clay he dug from the banks of the Sheboygan River, Langenberg produced pottery in the summer kitchen attached to his house between 1856 and 1893. He reportedly sold his pottery from a two-wheeled cart, as well as from his front porch and at local agricultural fairs. Regarding his craft, he is said to have commented, "Wir machen unser Geld aus Dreck" (We potters make our money from dirt)."

Some of  the wares manufactured by Langenberg may have even traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but, even so the Wisconsin Historical Society actually owns a number of examples of his red earthenware, although, this teapot is probably the most significant surviving piece of his production known today. And while a lot of the Langenberg pottery that exists is not glazed on the exterior, this particular object is entirely glazed and decorated with a brushed tulip in slip on both sides.  Records indicate that this teapot was made by Langenberg for his own personal use. 

Other forms manufactured by Langenberg include milk pitchers, bean pots, jars, batter bowls, mugs, muffin pans, crocks, pipkins, jugs and flowerpots, Interestingly, some of the forms are similar to wares mad by Carl Ludwig Heinrich Mehwaldt (1809-1887), another German trained potter who migrated to the Village of Bergholz near Niagara Falls in western New York in the early 1850s. A research article I wrote about Mehwaldt will be published in a forthcoming issue of Antiques & Auctions News, which I worked on with the Das Haus Museum in Bergholz.

19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot with Tulips Manufactured in Franklin, WI

19th Century Red Earthenware Teapot Decorated on Both Sides with Tulips in Slip

Attributed to Conrad Langenberg in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin

Circa 1856-1893

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Photo Courtesy: wisconsinstoneware.com

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A Remarkable Survivor: 19th Century Stoneware "Miner's Water Pot" Sells at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati, Ohio sold an important western Pennsylvania stoneware collection yesterday, among other select pieces from the Midwest that were owned by Louis Hahn (1928-2020) of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. The historic auction of western Pennsylvania makers included over 200 lots, and was the largest group of this region's stoneware to have been offered in a public sale in decades. 

The highlight of the sale was certainly some of the giant freehand and stenciled cobalt decorated crocks, as well as a nineteenth century eight gallon stoneware watercooler from Ohio, decorated with a patriotic eagle that sold for $9,500 plus the auction premiums. Although, of all the objects in the Hahn Collection, it was actually another watercooler that caught my attention that came with a fascinating history. 

The Louis Hahn (1928-2020) Collection of Stoneware

The Louis Hahn (1928-2020) Collection of Stoneware

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

According to Cowan's Auctions, "While the history of this remarkable watercooler is currently lost to time, the script "Miner's Water Pot" leaves no doubt of its intended use, and is further emphasized with the word "Miner" in cobalt-filled incised block lettering below. A stylized device featuring leaves and flower pods in cobalt completes the decoration on the front; similar floral devices, though with drooping flowers, decorate the sides. The back side of the cooler is decorated with a large bird standing on a floral device. Cobalt also decorates the base of each handle at the point of application to the body.

Though unmarked, the decorative elements of this jar suggest a southeastern Ohio origin. Coal mining began in this part of Ohio as early as 1800, and active mines were located in Meigs County by 1806. By 1820, ten southeastern counties were mining coal. Mining accelerated thereafter, and by 1870, thirty eastern Ohio counties were producing coal.

Coal mining in the Pittsburgh area has a similarly hoary past. By the late eighteenth century, coal was being mined at "Coal Hill," just across the Monongahela River from present-day Pittsburgh, and by 1830, the city was consuming 300 tons of locally-mined coal on an annual basis."

Even though there were some apparent condition issues from use, this remarkable survivor should probably be displayed in a museum. It sold for $450 plus the premiums. To my knowledge, I have not seen anything else like this before in a private or museum collection.

For those who were not aware of this sale, the auction catalog can be found on LiveAuctioneers or on Cowan's Auctions website.

A Remarkable Survivor: 19th Century Stoneware "Miner's Water Pot"

19th Century Stoneware Miner's Watercooler

Attributed to Southwestern Pennsylvania or Southeastern Ohio

Inscribed "Miner's Water Pot Miner"

Decorated with a Bird and Various Floral Motifs

Circa 1840s

Stands 16" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

View of the Inscription "Miner's Water Pot Miner"

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

View of the Back

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

View of One Twisted Handle

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

View of the Other Twisted Handle

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Photo Courtesy: Cowan's Auctions

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A Great Red Earthenware Pitcher from the Harold G. Rugg Collection that Sold Last Week at Merrill's Auctions in Williston, Vermont

A few days ago, I posted an article about the red earthenware that sold last Friday at Merrill's Auctions in Williston, Vermont; the pieces had been deaccessioned from the Vermont Historical Society in Montpelier in order to benefit the museum. And I also noted that those objects included an absolutely incredible glazed red earthenware pitcher.

I ended up purchasing the pitcher for my personal collection, and these photos reveal how the beautiful multi-colored glaze actually appears in hand. I took the pictures moments after I won the pitcher outside the auction gallery.

Interestingly, since this piece was previously owned by the Vermont Historical Society and the accession number is boldly written on the base - I contacted the museum yesterday to see if they could provide any additional information about the history of this object.

According to the historical society's collections manager Teresa Greene, "The pitcher was previously owned by Harold Goddard Rugg (1883-1957) who left a lasting legacy at the Vermont Historical Society. He was a prolific collector, former curator at the museum and assistant librarian at Dartmouth College, along with being a graduate of Dartmouth College."

Rugg's interests included ephemera, glass, ceramics and pewter. He is considered to be one of the early pioneers in collecting Vermont-made glass and pottery, and he used his research skills to track down examples. He placed advertisements in local newspapers seeking information. Once he obtained names, he often tracked down family members and corresponded with them for information and acquired pieces from descendants of workers or people who lived near the pottery or glassworks. He carefully recorded information and labeled his finds. He corresponded with other major collectors and experts of the subject. He became a close friend of Clarence Pitkin, curator at the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art in Hartford and writer on New England pottery. He corresponded regularly with Vermont pottery and glass collector John Spargo (1876-1966) and bought many pieces of Bennington pottery from him. When Spargo wrote his book Early American Pottery and China (1926) he used Rugg's Vermont pieces from Burlington, Middlebury and Fairfax as his illustrations (Plate 19). Rugg's St. Johnsbury stoneware water cooler was used as the book's first illustration (Plate 1). Spargo referred to Rugg in his book as that "indefatigable collector" (p. 175-176). Other collectors Rugg kept in contact with included glass and pottery expert George McKearin (1874-1958) and Bennington pottery collector Dr. Charles Green. Spargo called his collecting "hobby-riding," referring to the time he spent in the car driving around Vermont's back roads tracking down information and new acquisitions. Rugg logged hours in his car searching for new pieces for his collections, usually combining his trips with visits to friends or participating in his other passions in life.

The link is posted above, although, here it is again to a book written by Jacqueline Calder in 2008 about Rugg's life and published by the Vermont Historical Society, titled, Harrold Goddard Rugg's Legacy at the Vermont Historical Society.

Harold Goddard Rugg (1883-1957)

Harold Goddard Rugg (1883-1957)

The Red Earthenware Pitcher was a Part of His Collection at the VT Historical Society

See Article for More Information

This pitcher was almost undoubtedly discovered by Rugg in his travels in Vermont; although, it may have actually been manufactured in Maine, circa 1820-1840. Nonetheless, it is really a great object!

Northern New England Red Earthenware Pitcher from the VT Historical Society

Northern New England 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Probably Manufactured in Maine

Circa 1820-1840

Stands 8" Tall

Likely Discovered in Vermont and Formerly Owned by Harold G. Rugg (1883-1957)

Sold to Benefit the Vermont Historical Society

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View of the Handle

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Another View of the Pitcher

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View of the Base and the Vermont Historical Society Collection Number

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A Collection of Red Earthenware from the Vermont Historical Society that Sold at Merrill's Auctions in Williston, Vermont

An interesting selection of nineteenth century red earthenware sold this past Friday at Merrill's Auctioneers & Appraisers in Williston, Vermont. The objects had been deaccessioned from the collection of the Vermont Historical Society in Montpelier in order to benefit the museum. Some of the pieces had even previously been published, although, I felt this pitcher was the highlight of the group. The glaze was so much more impressive in hand! I actually posted about this piece on my Instagram page, describing it as an object that had it all: form, glaze, size and condition.

Described as possibly being from East Middlebury, Vermont, it also closely resembles archaeology I have seen from southern Maine. According to Massachusetts author Lura Woodside Watkins' (1897-1982) book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, "The Farrars in Vermont were principally stoneware potters in the nineteenth-century, except for Caleb Farrar, (1780-1849) who settled in Middlebury, Vermont in 1812. He was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, and was one of the numerous sons of Reverend Stephen Farrar who sought their fortunes in Vermont. He was thirty-two years old when he started in Middlebury the pottery that he ran for so many years (along with other family members) until 1849 (the pottery later passed through non-related ownership after 1850).

I have read various statements about the types of wares made in Middlebury. At first, and probably throughout Farrar's tenure, it was merely a redware pottery. Such of the redware examples that I have seen were glazed with a varying tone from rosy to yellow shades. A greenish-yellow glaze is also said to have been a representative color (undoubtedly, there were other glaze colors, too).

A smaller potshop in East Middlebury has not hitherto been noted. It was run by a man named Carpenter, and stood on the north side of the road through East Middlebury opposite a white schoolhouse. A pitcher that was undoubtedly made at this pottery has a yellow-green glaze."

This pitcher sold for $1,400 plus the auction premiums. The rest of pottery can be viewed in the auction catalog posted to LiveAuctioneers.

Red Earthenware Pitcher from the Vermont Historical Society

Northern New England 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Circa 1820-1840

Stands 8" Tall

Sold to Benefit the Vermont Historical Society

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Merrill's Auctioneers &  Appraisers

View of the Base and the Vermont Historical Society Collection Number

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Photo Courtesy: Merrill's Auctioneers &  Appraisers

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Minnesota's First Earthenware Pottery: The St. Anthony Pottery in Minneapolis and a Red Earthenware Pitcher Recovered at Historic Fort Snelling

According to a research article written in the summer of 1953 by G. Hubert Smith for the Minnesota Historical Society, titled, Minnesota Potteries: From Pioneer Craft to Modern Factory, "The earliest Minnesota earthenware plant doubtless was the St. Anthony Pottery established by Louis Kampff in August 1857, only three years after he emigrated from Germany. His workshop was located near the river in what is now Minneapolis just outside the limits of old St. Anthony. Kampff began to make pottery in a log shanty back of which was a clay pot where he obtained his raw material. In 1860 he erected for his plant a two-story stone building. Somewhat altered, this building on Marshall Street Northeast, was still being used as a residence by one of his sons as recently as 1947.

The extent of Kampff's early venture is reflected in the manuscript early census records for 1860. They indicate that in 1859-60 Kampff used glazing supplies value at two hundred dollars as well as forty cords of wood costing eighty dollars. During the same year he paid three employees a total of six hundred dollars in wages, and his plant produced twenty thousand gallons of earthenware valued at a thousand dollars.

In the course of the decade that followed, the business of the St. Anthony Pottery grew to such an extent that by 1870 Kampff was producing three thousand dollars of pottery annually. His capital investment for the same year was placed at two thousand dollars. In 1876, Kampff sold the business to Jonas G. Swahn. With his son Charles, who joined the firm in 1883, the latter manufactured "flower pots, garden vases, hanging baskets," and terra cotta work "to order." After the elder Swahn died, the business was continued until 1904 as J.G. Swahn's Sons."

Site of the St. Anthony Pottery in Minneapolis, MN

Site of the St. Anthony Pottery in Minneapolis, MN

Circa 1897

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Photo Courtesy: Minnesota Historical Society

Louis J. Kampff (1828-1903) was born in Hanover, Germany in 1828, where he learned the pottery trade and emigrated to the United States in 1854. He settled in Galena, Illinois; it is likely that he was employed in Galena's pottery industry. This is also where he met Mina Koehlberg in 1857, the same year the couple moved to Minnesota.

In August 1857, he built a 16 foot by 20 foot log shanty on the outskirts of St. Anthony near a clay pit along the Mississippi River and began producing red earthenware. He likely utilized  the river to export  some of the pottery he produced. Among the businesses that he is thought to have sold his wares included John Orth and Gottlieb Gluek, both immigrants who owned local breweries. The success of this early business is what led to Kampff building his new factory in 1860 that G. Hubert Smith wrote about in 1953.

Nonetheless, I have not been able to find a lot of evidence of Kampff's early red earthenware production, but I suspect it was largely influenced by the wares he made in Germany, and perhaps even the red earthenware he was involved with in Galena. As a result, I have to ponder the question whether any of the red earthenware made by Kampff in Minnesota resembled Galena red earthenware. I am curious to know if any slipware was manufactured at the St. Anthony Pottery.

Interestingly, though, the Minnesota Historical Society does own the remains of this red earthenware pitcher recovered by archaeologists from the schoolhouse area in the 1957/58 excavations of Historic Fort Snelling in Minnesota. The fort was located less than ten miles from the St. Anthony Pottery, and it was certainly in operation when Kampff was producing red earthenware. It should also be noted that the color of the glaze is similar to some glazes manufactured in Galena.

Red Earthenware Pitcher Recovered at Historic Fort Snelling in Minnesota

19th Century Red Earthenware Pitcher

Recovered from the Schoolhouse Area of Historic Fort Snelling in Minnesota

Possibly Made by at Louis Kampff's St. Anthony Pottery in Minneapolis, MN

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Minnesota Historical Society

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A Double-Handled Stoneware Pot Recovered in the 1950s at the Thomas Nelson, Jr. House in Yorktown, Virginia

According to National Park Service, "The Nelson House in Yorktown, Virginia was the home of Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738-89), Yorktown's most famous son and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Nelson's devotion to the patriot cause during the American Revolution contributed significantly to the creation of the United States.

During the colonial period five or six small outbuildings of Georgian design were clustered in an area to the right of the Nelson House. The buildings were used at various times as kitchens, wash houses, dairy houses, smoke houses, spinning houses and servant's quarters.

The house was damaged during the siege of Yorktown in 1781, and is one of the finest examples of early Georgian architecture in Virginia."

The Thomas Nelson, Jr. House in Yorktown, VA

The Thomas Nelson, Jr. House in Yorktown, VA

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Photo Courtesy: National Park Service

Interestingly, last week I learned about this double-handled salt glazed stoneware pot that was recovered at the Nelson House in the 1950s before it was a protected site. Although, what is especially interesting about this piece is the fact that it appears like a kiln waster or a misfired pot that was often discarded into a trash pit or waster pile. However, that does not appear to be what happened in this case. 

I have not been able to identify the exact origin of this piece, but because of the waterways that surround Yorktown, it is possible that this is something that arrived by boat. It may have also been manufactured in the James River Valley Region in Virginia, sometime during the early to mid nineteenth century. 

Stoneware Pot Recovered at the Thomas Nelson, Jr. House in Yorktown, VA

Stoneware Pot Recovered at the Thomas Nelson, Jr. House in Yorktown, VA

Recovered in the 1950s Before the House was a Protected Site

It Appears to be a Kiln Waster or a Misfired Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

Another View of the Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Private New England Collection

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A Pennsylvania Sgraffito Red Earthenware Dish that Sold Today at Conestoga Auctions in Manheim, Pennsylvania

Earlier today, Conestoga Auctions in Manheim, Pennsylvania sold some good pieces of American red earthenware, including an excellent late eighteenth or early nineteenth century sgraffito dish that was suggested to have been manufactured by Heinrich Roth (active ca. 1790-1810) in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, located in the eastern part of the state. Interestingly, while I have not been able to find a comparable example with the decoration found on this dish in a museum collection, Roth is responsible for one of the best pieces of surviving sgraffito known today, which is displayed in the Americana Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. The plate is decorated with a Peacock, surrounded by a floral motif and dated "1793." It was acquired by the museum in 1933 from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. de Forest.

This dish sold for $6,000 plus the auction premiums.

Other notable pieces of red earthenware that sold this morning was a matching pair of nineteenth century slip decorated spaniels, likely from Berks County, Pennsylvania, which also happen to be two of the best red earthenware examples that I have seen. I was also intrigued by a hand-modeled red earthenware bear holding a pitcher; I could be mistaken, although, I cannot recall having seen this exact form of bear before.

Some of the Red Earthenware that Sold Today at Conestoga Auctions in Mannheim, PA

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Dish with Sgraffito Decoration

Most Likely Manufactured in Eastern PA

Measures 11 1/4" in Diameter

Sold for $6,000 Plus Auction Premiums

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

View of the Back

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

19th Century Red Earthenware Slip Decorated Spaniels

Likely Manufactured in Berks County, Pennsylvania

Stands 7" Tall

Sold for $1,000 Plus Auction Premiums

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

View of the Back

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

19th Century Hand Molded Red Earthenware Bear Holding a Pitcher

Stands 6" Tall

Sold for $950 Plus Auction Premiums

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: Conestoga Auctions

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