Early 19th Century Stoneware Jar Made at the William Pecker Pottery in South Amesbury, Mass. that Appeared at Antiques Week in N.H.

A few days ago, I noted a very good example of eighteenth or early nineteenth century red earthenware from New England that showed up last week in the booth of Iowa antiques dealer Thom Rawson at the 68th annual New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association Show in Manchester, New Hampshire: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/08/some-information-about-forthcoming.html.

Nonetheless, I learned this morning through a Facebook post by stoneware collector Kris Casucci that an example of William Pecker's (1757-1820) circa 1810 stoneware from South Amesbury (Merrimacport), Massachusetts also showed up in Thom Rawson's booth. This is a very nice example of Pecker's stoneware, whereas this jar does appear like some of the jars made at Frederick Carpenter's (1771-1827) business in Charlestown, Massachusetts; however, Pecker was actually a trained Manhattan potter, working alongside such names as Crolius, Remmey, Commeraw and Morgan, circa 1802/03-1807/08. This information is documented during this period in Longworth's New York Directory. The attribution for this jar is based on matching objects stamped with Pecker's name, as well as archaeological evidence recovered at the site of his business.

Among the most interesting streets that Pecker is cited as living in New York City during this period was Bayard Street, circa 1803/04; this appears to be notable because the Crolius family was operating a stoneware manufactory on Bayard Street about the same time that Pecker is listed.

For some literature about William Pecker's stoneware production - see these books: 

1) South Amesbury’s Red Earthenware & Stoneware Production: The 1791-1820 William Pecker Pottery: https://historicbeverly.net/product/south-amesburys-red-earthenware-stoneware-production/

2) An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/

3) Commeraw's Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner: https://www.commeraw.com/

Also see a feature story I wrote for the April 23, 2023 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, William Pecker: A Massachusetts Red Earthenware & New York City Stoneware Potter: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2023/04/new-published-story-in-antiques-arts.html.

Note: There will also be a short section about William Pecker in my forthcoming 900+ page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts.

Stoneware Jar Made at the William Pecker Pottery in South Amesbury, Mass.

Early 19th C. Stoneware Jar Attributed to the William Pecker Pottery in South Amesbury, Mass.

Impressed with a Stamped Flower Highlighted with Cobalt

Circa 1810

The Jar is Two-Gallons in Size

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Photo Courtesy: Kris Casucci

A View of the "2" Gallon Capacity Mark on the Reverse Side

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Photo Courtesy: Kris Casucci

A View of One of the Handles

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Photo Courtesy: Kris Casucci

A View of the Interior

The Jar Originally Had a Lid

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Photo Courtesy: Kris Casucci

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

A Print Showing William Henry Harrison's Log Cabin Being Drawn from Danvers to Salem, Mass. in 1840 and Some Related Political Themed Pottery

While working on my forthcoming 900+ page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts, I came across this print published in Harriet Sylvester Tapley's (1870-1962) 1923 book, titled, Chronicles of Danvers (Old Salem Village) Massachusetts, 1632-1923: https://archive.org/details/chroniclesofdanv00tapl.

The print is described as "The Famous Log Cabin Built For The Harrison Campaign In 1840; drawn from Danvers by forty yoke of oxen, and exhibited on Salem Common."

For a brief history: The Log Cabin Campaign was a presidential campaign tactic used by the Whig Party in 1840 to portray their candidate, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), as a man of the people and to contrast him with the incumbent, Martin Van Buren (1782-1862). The Whigs used the image of Harrison living in a humble log cabin and enjoying hard cider to project an image of simplicity and connection to the common American, despite Harrison's wealthy background.

I would like to learn otherwise, although there is no known pottery from the Danvers and Salem area, which was produced for the William Henry Harrison campaign portraying any type of log cabin, etc. But these types of wares were manufactured in other areas, such as a circa 1840 red earthenware rundlet or barrel from New England, inscribed with a log cabin and "HARD CIDER." This object is shown below and was also published in my seventh book, titled, From One Town Came Many: The Red Earthenware Industry of Ancient North Yarmouth Maine: https://historicbeverly.net/product/94597/.

Additionally, a circa 1840 stoneware bank likely from Philadelphia sold earlier this year from the Rex and Patti Stark Collection of Massachusetts at Hake's Auction in York, Pennsylvania. This molded stoneware bank in the form of a log cabin and adorned with roof panels impressed with text that reads, "William Henry Harrison/President In 1841/With Tip And Tyler/We'll Burst Vans Boiler/Log Cabin" and "Harrison The Hero Of/Tippecanoe Fort Meigs And/The Thames Against Van/Buren The Demagogue/Of Kinderhook/Hurrah For Old Tip The/Farmer Of North Bend." Each side of the barrel is also inscribed with text, reading, "Hard Cider Boys" and "Log Cabin/ Tippecanoe/ Hard Cider. The bank sold for $53,971.41 including the buyer's premium: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/04/a-circa-1840-stoneware-political-bank.html.

William Henry Harrison's Log Cabin Being Drawn from Danvers to Salem, Mass.

William Henry Harrison's Log Cabin Being Drawn from Danvers to Salem, Mass.

Published in a Book in 1923 Written by Harriet Sylvester Tapley

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19th Century Red Earthenware Political Rundlet Made in New England

Inscribed with a Log Cabin and a the Words "Hard Cider"

Made in Support of William Henry Harrison's Log Cabin and Hard Cider Presidential Campaign

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Photo Courtesy: A.A.A.W.T.

19th Century Stoneware Political Bank Possibly Made in Philadelphia

Otherwise Another American Manufacturer

Adorned with Political Script

Circa 1840

Measures 6 3/4" in Length

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Photo Courtesy: Hake's Auction

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

Beverly, Mass.: The Hottest Zip Code in America and Wares Made at the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery

Over the last week, I have noticed that Beverly, Massachusetts has been named on a number of national social media posts (Yahoo News, Realitor.com, etc.) as being the hottest zip code in America right now for real estate. I noticed this morning that this news was also posted in an article published on August 5, 2025 by the New York Post, titled, This coastal gem is America’s hottest ZIP code: https://nypost.com/2025/08/05/real-estate/this-coastal-gem-is-americas-hottests-zip-code/.

New York Post Article About Beverly, Mass.

Link: https://nypost.com/2025/08/05/real-estate/this-coastal-gem-is-americas-hottests-zip-code/

See Article for More Information

However, Beverly was also home to one of New England's most significant red earthenware and ancient style art pottery factories during the circa 1860s to early 1900s period, which was a business established by Charles Albert Solares Lawrence (1829-1904), whose father had migrated to America in the early 1800s from Portugal, arriving in the Beverly and Danvers area. Examples of Beverly pottery are owned by a number of museums today, including Historic Beverly, as well as the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Peabody, Massachusetts Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, among others: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/4584.

The most recent example of Beverly pottery to sell at auction is perhaps a slip decorated pitcher that sold last month at Heckler's Auction in Connecticut; there was some speculation that this object may have been made in Hagerstown, Maryland, although I handled it last week, and there are a number of aspects about it that appear like pitchers made in Beverly: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/07/a-good-19th-century-slip-decorated-red.html.

Nonetheless, there will also be a section about the C.A. Lawrence Pottery in my forthcoming, 900-page, tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts. However, in the meantime - for more information - see my first published book, titled, The Beverly Pottery: The Wares of Charles A. Lawrence: https://historicbeverly.net/product/the-beverly-pottery-the-wares-of-charles-a-lawrence/.

Also, see a feature story I wrote that was published on pages 28-29 in the January 10, 2025 issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly, titled, Japanese Design Influence On Painted Red Earthenware In Late Nineteenth Century Beverly, Mass.: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/01/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques.html.

Published in January 10, 2025 Issue of Antiques And The Arts Weekly

See Article for More Information

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

Some Information About Forthcoming Tenth Book and Two Early Examples of New England Red Earthenware

For those interested and anticipating my next book, this is a checklist of things I have to finish up for my forthcoming tenth book, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Massachusetts. The book is currently 899 pages.

I also suspect the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century small black glazed red earthenware pitcher with an orange glazed interior, which my niece Alexis is holding may be related to production from this area. It may have been made in the Salem, Beverly and Danvers area, although the style of the handle and the large round footed base is also indicative of wares related to Peter Clark (1743-1826) in New Hampshire, who trained in the Danvers area, circa 1750s and/or early 1760s. The pitcher recently showed up in a group lot at an auction in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Note: For more information about the Clark family - see my recently published, 700-page, eighth book, titled, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.

My Niece Alexis Holding the Black Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher

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Late 18th or 19th Century Black Glazed Red Earthenware Pitcher

Possibly Made in Coastal Massachusetts

Stands " Tall

See Article for More Information

Additional Views of the Pitcher

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I was also really surprised by two pieces of red earthenware from New England that showed up last week at the antique shows in New Hampshire, both of which were found at the 68th annual New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association Show on Thursday August 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire. To my knowledge - these are the only objects known like either of them in existence today, essentially one-of-a-kind pieces. Both will be included in my forthcoming tenth book, whereas the object not pictured here will receive a few pages of discussion. 

However, this was the other object, and even though I do not know the maker, I really want it to be related to three known objects, one that is privately owned, while the others are owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts and the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. I believe these three objects were made by the Symmonds family in Salem, circa 1750-1830, which is a family name best-known today for the furniture they made in Salem in the 1600s, some of which has sold for millions of dollars through the years. In fact, the Peabody Essex Museum displays some examples of furniture made by the Symmonds family; although, this was also a family of potters, as early as 1750.

18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar

Possibly from Coastal Massachusetts

Perhaps Made in the Salem and Danvers, Mass. Area

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Thom Rawson

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

A Red Earthenware Jar from Bristol County, Mass. that Sold Last Night at Crocker Farm in Maryland and More Information About Isaac Upton in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.

One of my favorite late eighteenth or early nineteenth century red earthenware jars from Bristol County, Massachusetts is illustrated in Figure 43 of Lura Woodside Watkins' book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares. This jar is owned as part of Nina Fletcher Little's collection at Cogswell Grant (Historic New England) in Essex, Massachusetts. This jar is also pictured in my fifth book, titled, A Celebrated Industry: The Historic Wares of Southeastern Massachusetts, Bristol County and Cape Cod: https://historicbeverly.net/product/a-celebrated-industry-the-historic-wares-of-southeastern-massachusetts-bristol-county-and-cape-cod/.

Interestingly, a somewhat similar glazed red earthenware jar from Bristol County sold last night as part of Crocker Farm's Summer 2025 sale in Sparks, Maryland. The jar sold for $2,500 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2025-08-08/lot-205/Exceptional-Copper-Decorated-Bristol-County-Mass-Redware-Jar-late-18th-early-19th-century/.

Red Earthenware Jars from Bristol County, Mass.

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Bristol County, Mass.

Stands 8 1/2" Tall

Published in Figure 43 in Early New England Potters and Their Wares

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Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Another View of the Jar

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Photo Courtesy: Historic New England

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Made in Bristol County, Mass.

Stands 8 1/2" Tall

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Crocker Farm

More Information About Isaac Upton in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.

Additionally, I recently posted an article to this website, titled, Preserved Peirce, the Upton Brothers, Salem Village, Bristol County, East Greenwich, Etc. & the 1780s Quakers of Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., where I wrote in part, "Isaac (1736-1824) and Samuel Upton (1748-1810) were potters from from Bristol County, Massachusetts, who established a red earthenware company in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, circa 1771-1783. This business was likely tied in with Preserved Peirce or Pierce (1736-1798, a merchant in Swansea, Massachusetts, who previously traded and peddled wares for some of the potters in Bristol County.

The Upton brothers also had ties to the Salem and Danvers, Massachusetts area, seeing this is where their father, Edward Upton (1714-1772) was born, on April 16, 1714. He married Eleanor Osborn Upton (1713-1769) in Salem, on November 18, 1735. Although Isaac was born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire in 1736 and Samuel was born in Berkley, Massachusetts in 1748. Isaac also married Phebe Pierce (1739-1782) in Swansea on December 30, 1763, who was related to Preserved Peirce. 

The Upton family also had ties to Salam Village; John Upton (1620-1699), the first member of the family to be recorded in Salem in 1658, acquired land that his sons, William and Samuel Upton, later inherited in Salem Village. This land eventually became the site of the Upton Tavern in 1774. But the Upton name had no involvement with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. John Upton was a blacksmith, and the Upton House was used as a tavern from 1774-1825.

However, I am also interested in what happened to the Upton brothers after the East Greenwich business closed; not much is documented about the final 25 years of Samuel's life, while Isaac appears in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, which is where his daughter Sarah Upton (1784-1796) was born in 1784. He married Anna Sherman (1759-1822) in Adams in 1786. This was his second marriage, where his first wife, Phebe Pierce died in 1782. Isaac then lived the remainder of his life in Adams, although the big question I have is whether he operated as a potter at all while he lived here!? 

It also seems that the Friends Society (Quakers) of North Adams was established just after Isaac Upton arrived in Adams. The society was formed in 1781 and worshipped in a log cabin until 1786, when they erected a house that still stands today. According to a book written in 1885 by William F. Spear, titled, History of North Adams, Mass., 1749-1885, "The families of David Anthony (1747-1831), Isaac Killy (1730-1814), Isaac Upton, Joshua Lapham (1721-1799) and Adam Harkness (1750-1826) constituted the society at its first organization."

This community seems to have operated in a similar way as did the Quakers in Bristol County and parts of Rhode Island in the eighteenth century. In fact, a number of the early settlers in the Quaker community in Adams came from this area. But what I am really curious to know is if Isaac Upton produced red earthenware in Adams; census records and other records show that Upton lived in Adams during the circa 1784-1824 period. I think this would be a significant discovery, seeing that members of the Shove family of potters in Bristol County were also involved with the Quaker Meeting House in Adams.

Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1790 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.

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Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1800 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.

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Isaac Upton's Family Listed in the 1810 Federal Census in Adams, Berkshire County, Mass.

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Some of the families associated with the Quaker Meeting House in Adams, Massachusetts, including many members of the Upton family, as well as the Shove family, which was a family of potters in Bristol County, Massachusetts. (courtesy "Friends Records at East Hoosuck (Adams), Mass." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Ed. Henry E. Scott. Vol. 72. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1918)

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

A 19th Century Nathaniel Rochester Pottery Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar that Showed Up Yesterday at the N.H.A.D.A. Show in Manchester, New Hampshire

I went to all the antique shows in New Hampshire this week, and there was some great red earthenware and stoneware, although I brought home one piece of pottery, which came from a private Rochester, New York area collection. 

Interestingly though, it was almost two years ago that I acquired a two-color slip decorated red earthenware jar from the Bob and Nancy Skinner Collection (Skinner Auctions) that sold at Eldred's Auction Gallery on Cape Cod in Dennis, Massachusetts. A friend actually gave me the jar as a Christmas present in 2023. That jar was filled with newspapers from Rochester, New York from the 1950s, likely indicating that the jar had not traveled very far from when it was originally manufactured in the 1820s.

Furthermore, that jar was related to a slip decorated red earthenware jar owned by the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut; Francis P. Garvan (1875-1937) donated his renowned collection of American decorative arts to Yale in honor of his wife, Mabel Brady Garvan (1886-1979); Charles F. Montgomery (1910-1978) was a leading authority on American decorative art and a professor of art history at Yale, whereas he and his wife's Americana collection was donated to Yale in the 1970s. The museum's jar came from the Garvans: https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/8632.

Nonetheless, the jar I brought home yesterday came from the floor of the 68th annual New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association Show, and it is related to these two jars, all of which were made at the Nathaniel Rochester (1752-1831) Pottery in West, Bloomfield, New York, circa 1818-1831. 

For more information - see my recently publishhed, 1,400-page, two-volume book, titled, America’s Great Awakening and Migration: The Red Earthenware of Western New York: https://historicbeverly.net/product/103125/.

Note: For more information about the jar that sold on Cape Cod - see this story posted on New Year's Day 2024: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/01/a-very-good-slip-decorated-red.html

19th C. Nathaniel Rochester Pottery Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

Attributed to the Nathaniel Rochester Pottery in West Bloomfield, New York

Circa 1818-1831

Stands 8 1/4" Tall

See Article for More Information

A View of the Other Side of the Jar

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This Jar is in the Garvan Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery

It is Attributed to the Nathaniel Rochester Pottery in West Bloomfield, New York

Circa 1818-1831

Stands 10" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Yale University

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

Three Related 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers that Appear to Have Been Influenced by Stoneware Production

This is a form of nineteenth century red earthenware pitcher that has puzzled me for some time now; each of these pitchers is from the same manufacturer, although I have never been able to determine exactly where they were made. I suspect they may be from Vermont, whereas a similar shape of pitcher may have been made in Middlebury, Vermont, based on objects owned privately in Vermont and other pitchers owned by the The Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts. 

However, another aspect about these objects that I have found interesting is the fact the general shape of each pitcher is similar in style to some stoneware pitchers manufactured in places like Bennington, Vermont and Worcester, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century.

Similar Circa 1845 Bennington, Vermont Pitcher: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2021-04-09/lot-145/Scarce-NORTON-FENTON-EAST-BENNINGTON-VT-Stoneware-Pitcher-w-Cobalt-Decoration/

Similar Circa Worcester, Massachusetts Pitcher: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2022-08-05/lot-87/One-Gallon-Stoneware-Pitcher-w-Cobalt-Parrot-Decoration-attrib-Frank-B-Norton-Worcester-MA/

Interestingly, I don't think the subject of stoneware manufacturers in Vermont influencing red earthenware production is a subject that has received much attention through the years, but it was also a type of production that happened in Western New York in the 1800s. In fact, the Western New York production is documented in my latest published book, which is 1,400-pages, and two-volumes, titled, America’s Great Awakening and Migration The Red Earthenware of Western New York: https://historicbeverly.net/product/103125/.

Note: These pitchers were all found out of context through the years; the largest one was discovered a few years ago near Acadia National Park in Maine, while the smaller ones were purchased at auctions in eastern upstate New York and in a group lot in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Three Related 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers

Three Related 19th Century Red Earthenware Pitchers

All Likely Influenced by Stoneware Production

Perhaps Made in Vermont, Otherwise Possibly Made in New York

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A View of the Handles

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A View of the Base on One of the Smaller Pitchers

All of the Bases are the Same in How They were Removed from the Potter's Wheel

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A Comparison with Two Stoneware Pitchers Made at the Norton Stoneware Companies

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Top Photos Courtesy: Crocker Farm

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