Ohio Find: 19th Century Textured Red Earthenware Toothpick Holder

Yesterday in Ohio, a friend came across this nineteenth century red earthenware toothpick holder. Its applied clay texture matches a style seen at the Speese Pottery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2012-11-03/lot-80/Rare-Ornamental-Redware-Jug-Stamped-SPEESE-SON-GETTYSBURG-PA/.

For a brief history: The Speese Pottery was a nineteenth century family-run red earthenware workshop on Seminary Ridge in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, operated by Henry Speese and his son, Charles. The shop transitioned from utilitarian items like crocks and drainage pipes to novelty tourist souvenirs crafted from clay sourced directly from the local Civil War battlefield.

Note: A miniature souvenir jug made at the Speese Pottery recently sold at Gehman Auctions in Pennsylvania: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/244302721_miniature-redware-jug-gettysburg-july-1-2-3-62-ephrata-pa.

19th Century Red Earthenware Toothpick Holder

Found Yesterday in Ohio

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Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

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Thinly Thrown, Vibrantly Glazed: The Sophistication of a Handled Red Earthenware Pot

I first encountered this finely thrown, nineteenth century red earthenware handled pot more than fifteen years ago in the personal collection of Sam Herrup in western Massachusetts. It has always been somewhat of an enigma. While various theories over the years have suggested a Maine origin, its sheer refinement effectively rules out most northern New England production centers. Instead, the potting aligns far better with the skill of coastal Massachusetts artisans, such as the Quaker potters who produced thinly thrown wares in Bristol County between 1780 and 1830. Interestingly, the only comparable object I have ever seen was a jar sold over a decade ago in Quebec. Rather than indicating a production link to Canada, however, that jar was likely just a piece that migrated north over time.

Although I lack definitive proof, I cannot help but wonder if these mysterious objects might actually originate from Vermont. My upcoming eleventh book—co-researched with a team of scholars and titled A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires, and Vermont—uncovers dozens of Vermont red earthenware businesses, some of which have been almost entirely overlooked by twentieth century scholarship. Central and western Massachusetts was also home to a diverse, nineteenth century red earthenware industry that remains largely unstudied today, leaving open the possibility that these masterfully potted pieces belong to one of these lesser-known regional traditions.

Nonetheless, adorned in a striking yellow and manganese glaze, this handled pot is truly an exceptional object!

19th Century Red Earthenware Handled Pot

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Photo Courtesy: Sam Herrup

This 19th Century Red Earthenware Jar Might be Related to the Handled Pot

It Sold Yeas Ago in Quebec, Canada

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Photo Courtesy: Private Colletion

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From Red Earthenware to Salt-Glazed Stoneware: The Evolution of Pottery Production in Penn Yan, New York

Located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Penn Yan is widely celebrated for its nineteenth century stoneware production. However, a privately owned jar recently sold through Cottone Auctions in Geneseo suggests that red earthenware was also produced in the area. One side of the ovoid jar features the script "Penn Yan" inscribed in manganese, while the reverse is decorated with black-glazed brushwork possibly mimicking the cobalt designs typically found on stoneware. Production of this rare jar may pre-date the early 1830s.

For a brief history: During the mid-to-late 1800s, stoneware production flourished as a major industry in Penn Yan, New York, heavily driven by the opening of the Crooked Lake Canal in 1833. This vital new waterway allowed local craftsmen to easily import high-quality clay from New Jersey. While early operations like George Campbell & Justus Morton began around 1836, Penn Yan’s golden age truly arrived in 1854 when potter James Mantell took over the local kilns. For more than two decades, Mantell produced a wide variety of highly sought-after pieces. The finest of the Penn Yan objects were decorated with vibrant cobalt blue figures of animals, and most notably, a famous jug adorned with a Seneca Indian. However, this thriving era came to a close by the late 1870s as the canal system declined and cheap, mass-produced containers made traditional, handmade stoneware obsolete..

Nonetheless, the jar sold for $400 plus the buyer's premium: https://live.cottoneauctions.com/lots/view/1-DIVXG3/redware-jar-with-manganese-script-inscription.

Note: For additional information - see my latest two-volume ninth book, America's Great Awakening and Migration: The Red Earthenware of Western New York -  https://historicbeverly.net/product/americas-great-awakening-and-migration-the-red-earthenware-of-western-new-york/

19th Century Red Earthenware Jar from New York State

The Black Script Reads "Penn Yan"

Stands 10 1/2" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Cottone Auctions

A View of the Other Side of the Jar

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Photo Courtesy: Cottone Auctions

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Red Earthenware Discoveries at Slotin Folk Art

A few days ago, Slotin Folk Art in Buford, Georgia, sold a group lot of red earthenware that included a profusely decorated nineteenth century rundlet (barrell). This object features vibrant, multi-colored bands of slip trailing arranged in intricate wavy and zigzagging patterns. Decorated seamlessly on all sides, it is truly an exceptional object!

However, the object that really caught my attention was a slip decorated bottle. It likely came from the same maker as another bottle currently in the inventory of Greg Kramer, a dealer in Robesonia, Pennsylvania. This same maker is also potentially responsible for two other jars: one previously owned by David Good in Ohio, and another example that emerged a few years ago from a private New York collection (see below).

Nonetheless, the group lot sold reasonably for $2,600 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/243630663_five-pennsylvania-earthenware-pieces-buford-ga.

Note: The sale also featured a group lot of red earthenware, likely originating from Illinois or Wisconsin, which realized $800 plus the buyer's premium: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/243630662_five-mid-atlantic-utilitarian-pottery-pieces-buford-ga.

(Right Arrow) 19th Century Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Rundlet

Probably Made in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Perhaps Pennsylvania

(Left Arrow) Late 18th or 19th Century Slip decorated Red Earthenware Bottle

Likely Made in Pennsylvania or Further North

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Photo Courtesy: Slotin Folk Art

Late 18th or 19th Century Slip decorated Red Earthenware Bottle

Likely Made in Pennsylvania or Further North

Stands About 7" Tall

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Photo Courtesy: Greg Kramer

Late 18th or Early 19th Century Three-Color Slip Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

One of Two Related Objects Known to Me to Exist Today

Likely Made in Either Pennsylvania or Somewhere Else in the Northeast

The Jar is Completely Surrounded in Slip

Previously in a New York Collection

Stands 10" Tall

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This is the Other Jar that I Believe is Related

Stands 4 1/8" Tall

Ex David Good Collection

Photo Courtesy: New England Auctions

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A Brief Investigation into a Pair of 19th Century Red Earthenware Dogs

Back in September 2023, while heading home from a hike with my dog in southern Maine, we stopped at an antique group shop just a few miles to the north. There, I came across a remarkably large, gold-painted, nineteenth century red earthenware figure of a recumbent dog. At the time, I suspected the piece originated in the Mid-Atlantic region—perhaps Pennsylvania—even though I had never seen another dog quite like it. I also felt strongly that the gold paint was original to the piece, likely applied at the pottery shop as a post-firing decoration rather than a later addition. Furthermore, its form and finish suggested it was intended as a formal mantel ornament of some sort, rather than a utilitarian household object like a doorstop.

However, the story took an interesting turn yesterday when a friend in Pennsylvania discovered a closely related, slightly smaller dog that had been found some time ago in the Chambersburg area. Historically, Chambersburg served as an important hub for traditional red earthenware production—a regional trade heavily shaped by the prominent Heart and Bell families. Directly within the town, patriarch Jacob Heart Sr. (1789–1865) produced red earthenware during the early-to-mid nineteenth century, establishing a family legacy that extended into the 1870s.

Chambersburg's potting community was tightly knit; the legendary John Bell (1800-1880) worked alongside Heart from 1826 to 1833 before relocating fifteen miles southeast to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. In Waynesboro, Bell and his son, John W. Bell (1828-1895), established a prolific, multi-generational pottery that operated for decades. The roots of this regional style trace twenty miles further south to the influential industry in Hagerstown, Maryland, where patriarch Peter Bell (1775-1847) originally trained his sons in German folk traditions. Meanwhile, just twenty miles east in Adams County, generations of the Miller family operated country potteries, supplying similar utilitarian red earthenware to the local farming community.

Note: For more information about the Miller family - see a feature story I wrote published on pages 5, 6 and 7 in the July 11, 2025 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Miller Red Earthenware: A History Of The Family's Production In Adams County, Pa: https://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/07/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques.html.

For more information about the Bell family - see a feature story I wrote for the December 7, 2018 issue of Antiques and Auctions News, titled, The Bell Pottery Collection At The Renfrew Museum in Waynesboro, Pa: https://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2018/12/feature-story-published-in-antiques-and.html.

19th Century Figure of a Recumbent Red Earthenware Spaniel

Found in Maine in 2023

The Gold Paint is Likely Original to the Factory

Probably Circa 1850-1900

Measures 11 5/8" in Length

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Another View of the Dog

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19th Century Figure of a Recumbent Red Earthenware Spaniel

Found Yesterday in Pennsylvania

Previously Found in the Chambersburg, PA Area

Probably Circa 1850-1900

Measures 11" in Length

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Photo Courtesy: Private Collection

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From Hartford to Norwich: Three Types of Pitchers Made by Sidney Risley

I recently shared a few stories explaining the significance of a circa 1830 slip decorated red earthenware pie dish from West Hartford, Connecticut, and its connection to the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich. During a recent visit to the museum, I came across three particularly noteworthy pieces of pottery on display. These nineteenth century earthenware pitchers were crafted by Sidney Risley (1814–1875), a potter who moved from Hartford to Norwich and opened his own works there in 1835. While his intricate, highly acclaimed pieces are featured in major institutions across the country—including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art—these specific examples can be seen right now at the Slater Memorial Museum.

19th Century Earthenware Pitcher Made in Norwich, CT

Made by Sidney Risley

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Photo Courtesy: Slater Memorial Museum

Information Displayed with the Pitcher

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Photo Courtesy: Slater Memorial Museum

19th Century Earthenware Pitchers Made in Norwich, CT

Made by Sidney Risley

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Photo Courtesy: Slater Memorial Museum

Information Displayed with the Pitchers

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Photo Courtesy: Slater Memorial Museum

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Boston and Charlestown Stoneware in the Legacy of Lura Woodside Watkins

Figures 89–95 in Lura Woodside Watkins' book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares (1950), illustrate a variety of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century stoneware objects from Boston and Charlestown, most of which are now held by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Perhaps the most intriguing of these is a stoneware jar shown in Figure 90, marked "Boston" and inscribed "Lydia Osborn" and "Marshall Timson." On page 83, Watkins describes the piece: "...In addition to its elaborate decoration, the reverse features the script signature "Marshall Timson," with "Lydia Osborn" scratched just below "Boston." The piece shows evidence of trial-and-error craftsmanship, as smoothing out a previous, unsatisfactory design left faint traces of the name and Charlestown..."

Two candidates from the legendary Osborn potting dynasty of Danvers and Peabody, Massachusetts, emerge for the jar's inscription, which will be featured in my forthcoming two-volume, tenth book, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, Danvers, Peabody, Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts. The first is Lydia Foster Osborn (b. 1774), daughter of the well-documented early utilitarian potter Abel Osborne. The second, younger candidate is Lydia Osborn (b. 1819) to Jonathan Osborn, a descendant of the same multi-generational lineage.

This piece highlights another potential link between the Essex County, Massachusetts lineages and the local stoneware industry, which includes a jar sold at Crocker Farm in 2021, now part of Adam Weitsman's collection at the New York State Museum: https://www.crockerfarm.com/stoneware-auction/2021-04-09/lot-1/Highly-Important-Mrs-Elesebeth-Tarbell-1806-BOSTON-Stoneware-Jar/.

This is Figure 90

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Courtesy: Early New England Potters and Their Wares

Additionally, other pieces illustrated in Early New England Potters and Their Wares—including two jugs and a jar also held by the Smithsonian—exhibit the distinct forms, stamps, and incised decorations characteristic of the regional potting tradition. The accompanying photograph shows how these objects appear today, recreating Watkins' original 1950 layout from Figure 89.

This is Figure 89

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Courtesy: Early New England Potters and Their Wares

This is How These Objects Appear Today

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History

Remarkably, one of the historic stoneware objects documented in Watkins' book is currently available in Massachusetts: the iconic, salt-glazed jug was originally published as Figure 92 in Early New England Potters and Their Wares. Stamped “BOSTON 1804,” this jug was manufactured by Frederick Carpenter (1771–1827) at his pottery along the Mystic River in Charlestown, Massachusetts. A true masterpiece of early American craftsmanship, the jug features an elegant, highly ovoid form adorned with a classic Federal-period swag-and-tassel decoration highlighted in rich cobalt, complemented by Carpenter's signature, English-influenced reddish-brown iron oxide slip.

For more information - see Lorraine German's article in the 2021 issue of Ceramics in America, The Little Pottery of Charlestown, Massachusetts: https://chipstone.org/article.php/869/Ceramics-in-America-2021/The-Little-Pottery-of-Charlestown,-Massachusetts.

For additional information - see this link: https://www.aaawt.com/antique/early-19th-century-boston-stoneware-jug-made-at-frederick-carpenters-pottery/

This is Figure 92

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Courtesy: Early New England Potters and Their Wares

Early 19th Century Stoneware Jug Made by Frederick Carpenter in Charlestown, Mass.

Decorated with Swag and Tassel Highlighted with Cobalt

Impressed "BOSTON 1804."

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