For every example of eighteenth and nineteenth century American red earthenware and stoneware that is owned by a museum, that object is also often accompanied with some type of history of family ownership or a moment of rediscovery, whereas the story of this nineteenth century stoneware churn from Fulton, New York is no different today. I actually just learned the twentieth century discovery of this object yesterday, although I was aware of part of its current history over the past ten years.
It was in the 1970s when David Blanchard's father, Douglas Blanchard was out picking for antiques in central New York, and he came across this remarkable churn for just $25 in a garage in Oswego, New York. Oswego is located to the north of Syracuse, New York along Lake Ontario, where it appears the churn may have only traveled about ten miles to the north from when it was originally manufactured.
However, the immediate first impression may not have been much compared to when the churn's artwork was eventually revealed. At first, it appeared like a simple churn, although that thought was quickly replaced, seeing that an incredible cobalt decoration was facing the wall, initially only revealing to visitor's of the garage the undecorated backside of the churn. It may have been placed this way to protect the decoration from any unexpected harm, although when turned around, the five-gallon churn revealed an incredible hand-drawn decoration of a hatted man smoking a pipe. The churn was also stamped "HARTS / FULTON."
Multiple generations of the Hart family were involved in commercial stoneware production, but it began with James (d. 1864) and his brother Samuel Hart (1806-1891), who were both born in England; the brothers were based in Oswego Falls (now Fulton), New York when they established a stoneware pottery in 1832 operating together until 1840.
However, about 1840 is when James Hart relocated to Sherburne, New York and opened his own separate pottery there, while Samuel continued to operate the Fulton business from 1840-1876.
James's son Charles (who was also born in England in 1818) joined him in the business from 1841 to 1858, after which Charles Hart ran it himself until he was joined by his own son, Nahum (b 1844) in 1866. The business was known as C. Hart and Son from 1866 to 1885.
Samuel Hart's nephew, William Hart was also the founder of the Picton Pottery in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, circa 1849. This family's history of stoneware manufacturers in New York and Canada is certainly among the most regarded of any of the red earthenware and stoneware potting family dynasties in America and Canada in the 1800s.
But the story of this churn found that day in the garage is far from over - it was then sold a few years later in order to help Douglas pay for his son's college tuition. The churn was sold through an auction house in Pennsylvania, where it brought about $12,000. Although, I do not know if this was a sale held by Marlin G. Denlinger, but it was acquired by Dr. Steven Leder of Yale University for around $20,000 at a Denlinger stoneware auction in Bennington. At the time, this was the highest price paid for a piece of stoneware sold at a Denlinger sale.
The Denlinger sales in Bennington are also often referenced today for exceptional examples of American stoneware sold by such auction houses as Crocker Farm in Maryland, Pook & Pook in Pennsylvania and Skinner in Massachusetts, among others.
Nonetheless, Dr. Leder collected and wrote about stoneware for decades, and he was also the co-author of the 1991 book, The Birds of Bennington, which describes the many bird designs on stoneware made by the Norton family in Bennington, Vermont in the nineteenth century.
This churn remained in Dr. Leder's collection until 2017 when it was consigned with part of his stoneware estate to Nadeau's Auction's annual spring sale in Windsor, Connecticut on March 25, 2017. I was actually the winning bidder on a number of the stoneware related lots in this sale for Adam Weitsman's Collection at the New York State Museum in Albany, New York, although with an $80,000-$120,000 estimate, the churn was passed at $60,000. But stoneware collector and dealer Stephen German eventually helped Adam acquire this object through a private sale with the family, whereas it now resides in the New York State Museum today.
Note: For the rest of the stoneware and related objects from Dr. Leder's Collection that sold at Nadeau's Auctions - see lots 331-345a in the auction catalog: https://www.nadeausauction.com/product-category/past-auctions/important-annual-spring-auction-1150/. Some of his stoneware has also been sold through the years by Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland. There was also a tribute to his stoneware collection that was presented by Jack McMackin and Stephen German at the Stoneware Collector's Group meeting in Bennington, Vermont.
Here is also a link to a story I posted to this website in March of 2017 that previewed the sale of this churn: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2017/03/an-important-collection-of-19th-century.html.
Important 19th Century Stoneware Churn from Fulton, New York
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