Various sections of this website have been updated. Please refer to the top of the right column for more information.
Some New Information Has Been Added to this Website
Check the Top Part of the Right Column
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Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
A Redware Event at the Berkshire County Historical Society
I will be sharing some excellent examples of red earthenware during my upcoming talk at the Berkshire County Historical Society (Herman Melville’s Arrowhead) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The presentation takes place on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The lecture will focus on red earthenware production across Western Massachusetts—including Springfield, Northampton, and Whately, etc.—as well as its historical ties to Danvers, Salem, Charlestown, and Bristol County. Additionally, New York author and historian Warren Broderick will join me to present brand-new research on red earthenware production in Vermont. If you plan to attend, you are highly encouraged to bring your own related examples to share!
Shown here are some examples from the collection of the Bidwell House Museum that will be on display.
For more information, and how to sign up - see this link: https://berkshirehistory.org/event/redware-in-western-massachusetts/.
Redware Later This Month in the Berkshires in Massachusetts
See Above for More Information
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
A Large Mid-Atlantic Cobalt Decorated Stoneware Jar Now Available in Massachusetts!
This is another excellent example of stoneware that is currently for sale in Massachusetts, which comes from the same private collection as the Massachusetts stoneware pieces that I wrote about in yesterday's post, titled, Coveted 1790s Fenton and 1804 Carpenter Stoneware Now Available in Massachusetts!: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/09/a-historic-convergence-coveted-1790s.html.
Dating to the mid-nineteenth century, this impressive six-gallon salt-glazed stoneware jar likely exemplifies the robust utilitarian craftsmanship of the Baltimore, Maryland pottery tradition. Standing as a testament to early American industrial storage, the jar features a classic ovoid silhouette, a thick squared rim, and sturdy applied lug or tab handles designed to support its massive weight when full.
The piece is distinguished by a large, boldly inscribed numeral "6" located near the upper collar or shoulder, which explicitly denotes its significant six-gallon capacity. True to the regional Baltimore style popularized by iconic multi-generational potting families like the Parrs and Remmeys, this jar is embellished with freehand slip-trailed or brushed cobalt blue decoration.
Nonetheless, the height of Baltimore’s stoneware production began as a major boom during the War of 1812 and evolved through the nineteenth century, establishing the city as an influential pottery center on the Eastern Seaboard. For more information - see Luke Zipp's article in the 2004 issue of Ceramics in America, Henry Remmey & son, Late of New York: A Rediscovery of a Master Potter's Lost Years, as well as John Kille's article in the 2005 issue of Ceramics in America, Distinguishing Marks and Flowering Designs: Baltimore’s Utilitarian Stoneware Industry.
Link: https://www.aaawt.com/antique/19th-century-six-gallon-cobalt-decorated-stoneware-jar-from-maryland/
To learn more about this object - contact A.A.A.W.T.: https://www.aaawt.com/about/.
Mid-19th Century Cobalt Decorated Stoneware Jar Like From Baltimore
Measures "6" Gallons in Capacity
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Additional Pictures of the Jar
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Monday, September 14, 2026
Coveted 1790s Fenton and 1804 Carpenter Stoneware Now Available in Massachusetts!
These two exceptional stoneware objects are now available in Massachusetts!
These are the Pieces of Stoneware Now Available!
Available at A.A.A.W.T. in Massachusetts
See Article for More Information
The first is an iconic, salt-glazed and iron-dipped stoneware jug stamped “BOSTON 1804.”, which was manufactured by Frederick Carpenter (1771-1827) on the Mystic River in Charlestown, Massachusetts. A true masterpiece of early American craftsmanship, this vessel features an elegant, highly-ovoid form adorned with a classic Federal-period swag and tassel decoration highlighted in rich cobalt, as well as Carpenter's signature, English-influenced reddish-brown iron-oxide.
As a foundational figure who helped pioneer commercial salt-glazed production in the Boston area, the coveted all-caps "BOSTON" mark was used to appeal to the massive market just across the water, making this early work highly prized. Adding immense prestige to this specific object, this exact jug is a documented piece of ceramic history, famously published as Figure 92 in Lura Woodside Watkins’ landmark 1950 book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares: https://whatelyhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/earlynewenglandpotters.pdf.
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.
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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A Closer View of the Decoration
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The Jug was Published in Figure 92 in Early New England Potters and Their Wares
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A View of the Handle
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Additional Views of the Jug
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Photo Courtesy: A.A.A.W.T.
Complementing this piece is a highly significant ovoid stoneware jar by Jonathan Fenton (1766–1851), dating to a brief production window between 1793 and 1796. This jar stands as one of the earliest branded examples of post American Revolution Massachusetts pottery in existence, produced at Boston's historic Lynn Street Pottery—the city's very first successful stoneware kiln. Crafted from high-quality clay imported from New Jersey to overcome the limitations of local New England clay, the jar features double open-loop handles, traditional incised rings, and tooled shoulders.
Its defining feature is a beautifully preserved, sponged cobalt fish decoration, a localized motif tailored specifically to appeal to regional consumers. Because historical tax and property records indicate Fenton abruptly left Boston for northern New England by May 1796, surviving pieces bearing his distinct block-letter "BOSTON" maker's mark or his ornate, rope-bordered script initials, "J.F.", are exceptionally rare. Together, these two historic vessels track the brilliant lineage of early New England potting traditions, and both are now available at Antiques Associates At West Townsend in Massachusetts.
For more information - see Lorraine German's article in the 2019 issue of Ceramics in America, titled, Eighteenth-Century Boston Stoneware: Appealing to a Local Market: https://chipstone.org/article.php/826/Ceramics-in-America-2019/Eighteenth-Century-Boston-Stoneware:-Appealing-to-a-Local-Market
Link: https://www.aaawt.com/antique/late-18th-century-stoneware-jar-made-by-jonathan-fenton-in-boston/
To learn more about either of these objects - contact A.A.A.W.T.: https://www.aaawt.com/about/.
Late 18th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Jonathan Fenton in Boston
Impressed "BOSTON" and Decorated with a Codfish in Cobalt
Circa 1793-1796
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A View of One of the Open Loop Handles
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A View of the Other Open Loop Handles
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The Reverse Side is Also Decorated with a Codfish in Cobalt
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Additional Views of the Jar
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Photo Courtesy: A.A.A.W.T.
A Redware Event at the Berkshire County Historical Society
I will be speaking at the Berkshire County Historical Society (Herman Melville’s Arrowhead) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
For more information, and how to sign up - see this link: https://berkshirehistory.org/event/redware-in-western-massachusetts/.
Redware Later This Month in the Berkshires in Massachusetts
See Above for More Information
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
George L. Safford Pottery: A Rare Turn-of-the-Century Ephemera Find in Central Maine
A friend found this for me in central Maine over the weekend—it’s the only billhead that I have seen from the Safford Pottery of Monmouth, Maine. George Llewellyn Safford (1847-1921) was the last generation from the family of potters, operating until the early 1900s.
For a brief history: The Safford family pottery legacy in Monmouth, Maine, represents a multi-generational tradition of American red earthenware production spanning from the late eighteenth into the early twentieth century. The trade roots trace back to an uncle, John Safford (1742-1823), who was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and passed the craft down to his nephew, John Safford II (1769-1850). In 1830, a nineteen-year-old cousin named John M. Safford (1811–1880), who had completed his formal training as a potter in Exeter, New Hampshire, moved to Monmouth to work alongside John II. The two cousins solidified their collaboration by forming an official business partnership that operated successfully from 1832 until 1838.
Following the dissolution of the partnership and his subsequent marriage in 1840, John M. Safford constructed his own homestead and independent pottery shop in Monmouth. His workshop became well-known for producing highly functional, lead-glazed utilitarian red earthenware—such as pitchers, jars, and lidded stew pots—designed to meet the daily needs of nineteenth century households in Maine. The family trade continued well into the next generation when John M. passed the thriving business down to his son, George Llewellyn Safford, who continued production into the twentieth century.
For more information - see my seventh book, From One Town Came Many: The Red Earthenware Industry of Ancient North Yarmouth, Maine: https://historicbeverly.net/product/from-one-town-came-many-the-red-earthenware-industry-of-ancient-north-yarmouth-maine/.
Note: For some information about archaeology collected at the site of the Safford Pottery - see a recent post to this website, titled, Unearthing the Past: The Rediscovered Artifacts of Monmouth’s Safford Pottery: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/08/unearthing-past-rediscovered-artifacts.html.
Billhead from the George L. Safford Pottery in Monmouth, Maine
Circa 1880
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Photo Courtesy: Chris Havey
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New Published Feature Story in Antiques & Auction News: Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art
This is the print version of a feature story I wrote recently published on pages 4-5 in the September 11, 2026 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art.
Here is a link to a PDF of page 4: https://www.academia.edu/17324Here is a link to a PDF of page 5: https://www.academia.edu/17324
New Published Feature Story in Sept. 11, 2026 Issue of Antiques & Auction News
Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art
This is Pages 4 and 5
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New Published Feature Story in Sept. 11, 2026 Issue of Antiques & Auction News
Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art
This is Page 4
See Article for More Information
New Published Feature Story in Sept. 11, 2026 Issue of Antiques & Auction News
Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art
This is Page 4
See Article for More Information
New Published Feature Story in Sept. 11, 2026 Issue of Antiques & Auction News
Art Pottery Stoneware Produced At The Pennsylvania Museum And School Of Industrial Art
This is Page 5
See Article for More Information
This is the September 11, 2026 Issue of Antiques & Auction News
See Article for More Information
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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