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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