FAHRENHEIT 2300 by Crocker Farm

Extraordinary early three-gallon John Bell stoneware jug, to be sold October 31 by Crocker Farm, Inc.

Many agree that John Bell was one of the most creative American potters of the 19th century, with a highly diverse product line unlike most of his contemporaries. His career spanned over fifty years in Hagerstown, MD, Winchester, VA, and Waynesboro, PA, and during that time his products included cobalt-decorated utilitarian stoneware, simple and high-styled redware in a wide variety of forms and glazes, various molded household objects, and molded and hand-modeled animal figures. Bell’s works are included in some of the nation’s finest private folk art and museum collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Ford Museum, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and Winterthur. This icon of American folk pottery is perhaps best known for his distinctive dotted tulip decoration, usually consisting of circular or oval petal flanked by thinner petals and accented with a series of brushed cobalt dots lining the top edge of the blossom.

The dotted tulip motif is commonly found on Bell’s salt-glazed stoneware, often applied over a kaolin slip to improve the color of the clay and decoration. The design is also frequently found applied in manganese on the unglazed exteriors of some of his redware jar forms. It is also seen, albeit very rarely, applied in cobalt on Bell’s redware over a glazed surface, most notably on his celadon-glazed redware jugs and pitchers. One such jug bears the initials “C F B,” indicating it was likely made by Bell’s son, Charles Frederick Bell. Two other examples of this style can be seen on p. 31 of George and Connie Manger’s Pottery of the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys.

Opposite side of John Bell jug, to be sold October 31.

Two early examples of John Bell redware pictured in H.E. Comstock’s The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region are decorated with a tulip design, which can be viewed as a precursor to his dotted tulip motif. Both were made before 1845, when he began producing stoneware.  A very rare large-sized redware jar, pictured on page 116, plate 4.96, is decorated with an extensive cobalt tulip design over a whitish slip. A phenomenal tin-glazed teapot, pictured on page 126, plate 4.132, is decorated with a similar, vertical design in brown and green slip. Both of these early examples feature a ball-shaped petal flanked on each side by two very thin petals. Neither exhibits the dotted embellishment known on pieces produced years later.

As is the case with most stoneware decorators, it is unknown what inspired Bell to make this his trademark decoration, though it bears a resemblance to PA toleware decoration of the period (Comstock, p. 117). It appears that Bell’s tulips did not go unnoticed. Dotted brushwork on the floral designs of stoneware produced by John Young from Harrisburg, PA, circa 1854, and Samuel Irvine  of Newville, PA, circa 1865,  indicate that Bell’s style was probably being emulated by competitors in the state.

Front of John Bell jug to be sold October 31.

We have been consigned a very fine example of tulip-decorated John Bell stoneware for our October 31 auction, a three-gallon jug marked simply “JOHN BELL,” which descended in a Hagerstown, MD family. Its taller, thinner  spout and shapely form, which is slightly more ovoid than most of Bell’s stoneware jugs, suggests it may have been produced in the very early years of his stoneware production in Waynesboro, PA, circa 1845 to 1850. The form closely relates to an extremely rare early Bell stoneware jug sold through Crocker Farm in May 2008, which bears the abbreviated mark “J. BELL.” It is pictured below. That jug is the only example of Bell stoneware we have seen bearing this early mark, usually found on redware pieces made before 1850. The clay color and cobalt band around the spout are also noticeably similar to the jug we will be offering in October, further supporting the notion that both jugs were made early into Bell’s stoneware venture.

Very Rare Early Stoneware Jug, Stamped Simply "J. BELL," circa 1845-1850. Sold by Crocker Farm, Inc., in May 2008.

Most noteworthy about the jug is its elaborate cobalt slip decoration extending vertically from base to shoulder on each side. The design consists of two long stems bearing two smaller tulips, swags, and stylized dashed brushwork, each culminating in a very large dot-embellished tulip at the shoulder. These tulips are two of the largest I have observed on a piece of John Bell pottery, measuring about five inches wide each. Such profuse decoration is rarely seen on Bell’s jugs, suggesting this piece may have been made for a special client. The decoration on a standard Bell jug of this size is usually relegated to the shoulder area, typically having a tulip on each side and a third design on the front. An example of a fairly typical Bell jug, made circa 1860-1875, is pictured below.

Typical John Bell two-gallon stoneware jug, circa 1860-1875, showing standard form, decoration, and spout style. Sold by Crocker Farm, Inc., in May 2008.

Another interesting feature of the jug to be sold on October 31 is a small incised design, composed of two leaves connected by a stem, which underscores the three-gallon capacity mark. It may have been impressed rather than incised, made as part of the jug’s three-gallon capacity stamp.  I do not recall seeing this treatment on another piece of Bell pottery.

Since handling nearly four-hundred pieces of Bell pottery from Waynesboro, PA, the work of this master craftsman never ceases to amaze me in its variety, quality, and artistry. It is clear that Bell’s purpose for this jug was two-fold, as was the case for so many 19th century potters. While designed to be used as a household good, the jug’s highly decorative nature  reveals Bell’s intent to impress its owner with a thing of beauty.

The pottery form known as a gemel, also gemel jug or gemel bottle, is one of the rarest forms in American stoneware. The word is derived from the Latin word “geminus,” meaning twin, double, paired, or half-and-half. The plural of this same word, “gemini,” is used to refer to the constellation composed of  twin brothers, Castor and Pollux, of Greek mythology. The words “twin” or “double” definitely come to mind when one thinks of a pottery gemel, which is composed of two wheel-thrown jugs, joined together with clay between the two. A single handle is applied to carry and pour the paired jugs, though the positioning of this handle can vary from potter to potter. Variations of the form were also produced by American glass makers. Occasionally, the form is taken one step further, involving four connected jugs. Such pieces are referred to as “double gemels.”

Stoneware Gemel with Incised Bird Decoration to be sold in our October 31 auction. Height 6 1/4".

The purpose of a gemel was to hold two liquids that were frequently used together in individual chambers. The form obviously made using such liquids more convenient than carrying two separate jugs. It is believed that many gemels were designed to hold oil and vinegar, which were commonly used in foods together, but needed to be kept separate. In other instances, a gemel may have held two different types of liquor.

While many gemels exist bearing little or no decoration, some are known with wonderful brushed or incised designs, indicating they were likely made as specially-ordered or presentation items. Most signed or attributed stoneware examples were produced in New Haven, CT, by Absolom Stedman, or during Stedman’s partnership with one of the Seymours, around the year 1831 (Ketchum, American Stoneware, p. 58). Several are known bearing maker’s marks from this pottery, including some with distinctive incised bird designs accented with impressed circles.

Redware examples are also known from elsewhere in the country, including a few produced in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which are pictured in H.E. Comstock’s The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region. A small example by the highly-regarded potter, Anthony Bacher, who worked in Adams County, PA, Winchester, VA, and Thurmont, MD, circa 1850 to 1885, is glazed in cream and brown and features a horizontal handle. A gemel by Winchester and Strasburg, VA potter, Solomon Bell, consists of two molded male figures holding mugs. Clay hats serve as the containers’ lids. Gemels were no doubt produced in nearly every region of 19th century American utilitarian pottery production, though few have survived.

We have been consigned an exceptional stoneware example for our October 31 auction, which was given as a gift to an early Hanover, PA antiques dealer in the first half of the 20th century, and has never been offered for public sale. Measuring 6 1/4″ tall, the double jug is decorated with two incised birds filled with bright cobalt slip. Both birds are embellished with incised crests and ringed necks, and their wings are outlined in unusual incised wavy lines. Each are perched on a scallop-edged leaf or stem, connecting at the center with a three-petaled flower resembling a bow. In this way, the connected design mimics the conjoined structure of the jugs.

The cobalt-highlighted letters M and B are impressed below the spout. According to the consignor, this piece originally descended in a New York State family by the name of Brewster. The two letters, therefore, may be the initials of its original owner, with the “B” referring to Brewster. However, it seems more likely that the letters refer to the contents of each jug. The best hypothesis on the meaning of these letters is that they refer to madeira and brandy. Madeira, a wine produced since the 16th century on the Portuguese island of Madeira, gained much popularity in 18th century America. It was favored by many of the founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, and was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Madeira’s flavors and uses varied, largely depending upon the aging process and varieties of grapes used. Interestingly,  the wine’s long travels on ships exposed to the sun’s heat created a taste many found pleasing, and this accidental method of aging was later replicated on the island’s sun-drenched beaches. Brandy, whose name is derived from the Dutch word “brandewijn,” meaning “burnt wine,” was originally created from wine distilled in oak casks prior to shipment. The distillation was designed as a method of preservation and to reduce costs by concentrating the liquid; the product was diluted with water upon reaching its destination by ship. Consumers soon realized, however, that the undiluted wine had a robust and pleasing flavor, which was chemically altered by the distillation process,  and soon began drinking it without adding water. Most of us are aware of 18th and 19th century stoneware jugs and coolers bearing the impressed or incised inscription “BRANDY,” indicating its popularity in early America.

An interesting link can be found between madeira and brandy. Both have been frequently used together in cooking as a base for meat glazes, sauces, and marinades. I have also found a 19th century recipe for a cake made with both madeira and brandy. It is possible that this gemel saw more use as a kitchen accessory than as someone’s personal flask.

As far as its maker is concerned, the fat-bodied birds that adorn the front most closely resemble the work of the Crolius and Remmey family of Manhattan, NY. The  style of decoration on this example is so far unlike the bird designs of the potters of New Haven, CT, who produced most incised gemels known, that we can safely rule them out. Furthermore, the age does not strike me as early 1830′s, but much earlier, perhaps sometime around 1800. The motif of two facing birds may be an early predecessor to later paired bird designs used in Baltimore and Philadelphia by Henry Remmey, Henry Harrison Remmey, and Richard Remmey.

From the very beginning, we have always endeavored to add excitement to the collecting community and offer fresh-to-the-market examples of exceptional quality. 2009 has been a year that has fulfilled this hope of ours. This gemel follows in the wake of two other remarkable incised stoneware pieces we have offered this year, the first being an Albany, New York, cooler with fish and bird decoration, which set a stoneware specialty auction record at $103,500, and the second a Connecticut flask with bird and flowering urn decoration, which sold on July 11 for $40,250. Like these two other pieces, I believe this newly-surfaced gem will further support the claim that ceramics are the hottest commodity in American decorative arts today.

A redware jar featured in our July 11 stoneware and redware auction is both extremely rare and important to the study of American pottery. The jar, stamped, “W. BURCHNELL / LONDON,” is one of the only known vessels signed by William Burchnell of Madison County, Ohio, and, therefore, serves as an important resource for understanding the type of redware manufactured by this potter in particular and early western Ohio earthenware potters in general.

William Burchnell, London, OH, Redware Jar circa 1835, to be sold in our July 11, 2009, auction.

When a collector consigned this redware jar to our auction, we initially searched our library of books on American potters for any information on potters named Burchnell. Finding this potter to be undocumented, we started guessing about the origin of this jar. With only the town name of London listed in the maker’s mark, we assumed that this jar was probably made in a New England town, possibly London, NH. However, we also saw similarities between this vessel and redware jars manufactured in Morgantown, VA (now WV).

An 1883 book, The History of Madison County, Ohio, answered some of our questions about this jar. According to this book, John Dungan, Esq., came to London, OH, in 1835 and recorded information about the town. According to this information, “There were two potteries in the village, one located on South Main street, in the rear of the present residence of Judge Clark, carried on by James M. Thompson, and the other located on the site of the Presbyterian Church carried on by W. W. Burchnell.”

Further research in Ohio Census and Death Records revealed additional information about Burchnell. He was born in the 1790s in Virginia, arrived in London, OH, before 1830 and lived there until at least 1840, judging by Census records. By 1850, William Burchnell had passed away, leaving his widow, Mahala, raising six children.

However, what makes William Burchnell more significant than an obscure, short-lived Ohio earthenware potter is the style of his ware as well as the larger potting community he participated in. As I mentioned, the Burchnell jar featured in our July 11 auction shares a lot of similarities with Morgantown redware (see Horvath and Duez, “The Potters and Pottery of Morgan’s Town, Virginia,” Ceramics in America 2004), notably its form and horizontal tulip decoration.

These similarities are more than coincidental. The other earthenware manufacturer in 1830s London, OH, was James M. Thompson, younger brother to the patriarch of Morgantown’s Thompson family of potters, John W. Thompson. According to Horvath and Duez, James M. Thompson “almost certainly had begun training with [Morgantown earthenware potter] Jacob Foulk Jr. about 1804” (see Horvath and Duez, p. 121).

According to The History of Madison County, Ohio, James M. Thompson took his Morgantown potting training and settled in London, OH, in 1813, at the fairly young age of 27. Among the first settlers of London, Thompson was also undoubtedly one of the first established potters in western OH. He continued operating in London until at least 1850, according to Census records. As one of the region’s first earthenware potters, as well as one of its longest tenured, James M. Thompson’s Morgantown-style of earthenware production could have possibly defined the type of pottery manufactured in early western Ohio’s cultural blank canvas. With hardly any signed examples to draw conclusions from, it is quite possible that some of the unsigned ware attributed to Morgantown actually originated from this overlooked region of pottery production.

When analyzing the Burchnell redware jar in our upcoming auction, it is important to note that it was made in this potting community with roots in Morgantown, VA (now WV). However, Burchnell’s ties to Morgantown may grow deeper still. According to the death records of Burchnell’s children, William Burchnell was born in Virginia. Along with the fact that he established a neighboring pottery to James M. Thompson, this information indicates that William Burchnell very likely began his potting career in Morgantown. Burchnell possibly trained alongside James M. Thompson and followed his footsteps to Western Ohio when the appropriate time came. With more research necessary, the significance of Burchnell to American earthenware potting history is proving to be greater than an unknown potter, who fortunately signed his wares.

Impressed G & A BLACK stoneware jar, sold in our October 30, 2004 auction.

Stoneware produced by the Black family in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, is some of the most respected of all Southwestern PA wares. A stoneware pitcher impressed “G & A BLACK” graces the cover of Phil Schaltenbrand’s Stoneware of Southwestern Pennsylvania and many examples were featured in The Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s 2007 exhibition, “Made in Pennsylvania: A Folk Art Tradition.” According to Schaltenbrand’s excellent, ambitious book, Big Ware Turners, the Black family’s venture into stoneware manufacturing began in the early 1840′s, when James Black began making stoneware in Somerfield, PA. No signed examples from either this enterprise or Black’s subsequent partnership with James Hamilton (whose later work in Johnstown was stamped, “HAMILTON & PERSHING / JOHNSTOWN / PA”) are, to my knowledge, known. By the late 1850′s, Black’s sons, George and Albert, had taken over the pottery and at some point the ware was stamped with the simple mark, “G & A BLACK.”

Stoneware jar attributed to G. & A. Black or Albert Black, Somerfield or Confluence, Somerset County, PA, sold in our November 1, 2008 auction.

Circa 1872 the two brothers dissolved the Somerfield business and went on to establish potteries elsewhere in Somerset County–George in Meyersdale and Albert in nearby Confluence. Albert’s pottery, at least, continued the stylistic tradition born in Somerfield–the similarity between known Somerfield and Confluence wares makes an attribution to one town or another difficult on many identifiable Black pieces. A signed Somerfield jar pictured on page 47 of Schaltenbrand’s Stoneware of Southwestern Pennsylvania and a signed Confluence jar on page 105 of Big Ware Turners demonstrate this.

While George’s family pottery in Meyersdale is known to have continued operation into the twentieth century, little has apparently been known about the fate of Albert’s Confluence manufactory. The recent discovery of a billhead dated 1898, however, shows that Albert’s family carried on their pottery tradition at least until around the turn of the century. (The history of the Black family potteries is found in Schaltenbrand, Big Ware Turners, pp. 104-6. For more information on Hamilton & Pershing, see Big Ware Turners, pg. 99)

Another Black family, Somerset County, PA stoneware jar, sold in our March 21, 2009 auction.

The billhead, which boasts a large order of $239.31 including “3800 1 Gal Dutch Pots,” reads, “Bought of V.M. BLACK & CO., / DEALERS IN AND MANUFACTURERS OF / Stoneware, Fine Glazed Milk Pans, Lawn Vases, Parlor Vases, Drain Tile, DRAIN TILE, WATER PIPES, CHIMNEY TOPS, Etc.” A search of the 1900 federal census reveals that V.M. Black was Virgil M. Black, a 46-year-old merchant with a wife, Mary, and four children living at home. Living very near Virgil Black was 70-year-old Albert Black and his wife Esther. Very interestingly, by this time Albert had become a man of the cloth, his occupation listed as “Minister.”

The logical conclusion that Virgil M. Black was Albert Black’s son is proven by the 1860 census, which shows the 6-year-old boy living in his parents’ household. Albert, like his son many years later, was listed as a “Merchant,” probably referring not only to the pottery but perhaps more importantly a general store he operated concurrently with it. (Schaltenbrand, Stoneware of Southwestern Pennsylvania, pp. 46-7)

V.M. BLACK & CO., Confluence, Pennsylvania, 1898 billhead, to be sold in our July 11, 2009 auction.

It is unclear if Albert Black was himself ever a potter. Both his brother and father are listed as potters in the census–James in 1850 and George in 1860–but the same cannot be said for Albert. The 1870 census, however, lists both George and Albert Black as merchants, and in 1880, the brothers’ first census since leaving Somerfield, George is called a “Grocerer” and Albert a “Dry Goods Merchant.” Also the first taken in Virgil Black’s adulthood, this census lists “Burgell” M. Black as apparently living next door to his father, and engaged in the same occupation as him.

The fact that the census taker never called Albert Black a potter does not, of course, rule out his undertaking of that occupation alongside his merchant activities, or at the very least in his youth. In fact, given his pedigree, it would be very surprising if he never turned a jar for his family’s stoneware manufactory. The same can be said for the subject of this article, Virgil M. Black, who is never referred to as a potter in existing census schedules. While existing censuses prior to 1900 show potters working in Confluence, the same cannot be said for that year, just two years after the bill head lists Black’s company as “dealers in and manufacturers of stoneware … .” By 1900, stoneware production had mostly evolved out of the familiar utilitarian art form into a much more mass-produced, industrialized manufacture, and workers in a large-scale pottery operation like Virgil Black’s establishment apparently was would not necessarily have been called “potters” in the census. We do not know for sure if Virgil’s shop was the same one that Albert had founded about a quarter of a century earlier, but it probably was. Virgil himself may have assisted in the operation of the pottery, but at this point the shop had probably moved far away from a shop where the potter-owner would turn his own pieces or at the very least assist in a relatively small operation of potters turning pieces on wheels with little variance from an art practiced thousands of years prior. And while Virgil’s pottery may have gone by the wayside between 1898 and 1900, this seems unlikely–we know, for instance, that the firm of V.M. Black & Co. was still in business in 1902, as it appears in that year’s edition of the Directory of American Cement Industries …, which lists Virgil’s company under “Dealers in Cement.”

No pieces exist bearing the mark of Virgil M. Black’s Confluence pottery, to my knowledge. Certainly many vessels were produced there–this single billhead lists a grand total 5,450 items. Besides the 3,800 one-gallon “Dutch Pots,” jugs, common pots, and “butters” in sizes leading up to ten-gallons, were all sold in this order. Black’s firm clearly continued the tradition of his father, operating essentially a general store with an adjoining pottery–the prominent statement at the top of the billhead, “DEALERS IN MAPLE SUGAR AND B. W. FLOUR,” makes this clear, as does the aforementioned reference to selling cement. Despite the absence of any known remnants from this clearly prolific manufactory, it is clear that Albert and Virgil Black continued to produce wares that served local Somerset County and beyond for decades after they left their well-known Somerfield establishment behind. As is often the case with researching American stoneware and redware, sometimes only a chance encounter with an unexpected document or piece of pottery enables significant enlightenment about a particular potter or pottery. In this case, this small document allows us to add another pottery owner to the history of the prolific Southwestern Pennsylvania potters–Virgil M. Black.

We’ve taken a month-long hiatus from blog posts as we prepared the catalog and otherwise geared up for this Saturday’s auction. We’re getting back into the swing of things now, and will resume posting things regularly. We should have a couple of more articles up by the weekend, with more to follow. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see many of you this Friday and Saturday!

Crocker Farm Summer 2009 Auction of American Stoneware & Redware
OVER 300 LOTS of Antique American Ceramics (Entire Online Catalog).
York, Pennsylvania, Expo Center (Directions).
AUCTION: Saturday, July 11, 10am.
Preview: Friday, July 10, 1-4pm. Saturday, July 11, 8-10am.
HOW TO BID.
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