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

See Above for More Information

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

See Above for More Information

Courtesy: Early New England Potters and Their Wares

This is How These Objects Appear Today

See Above for More Information

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

See Above for More Information

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."

See Article for More Information

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