RevolutionCrossroads/si_us_revolutionary_era_collections huggingface dataset:
Pitcher, "Signals at Portland"
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: pitcher
date made: 1807
place made: United Kingdom: England, Liverpool
Physical Description: polychrome (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, earthenware, refined (overall material)
transfer printed (overall production method/technique)
Measurements: overall: 9 1/4 in x 9 3/4 in x 6 1/4 in; 23.495 cm x 24.765 cm x 15.875 cm
Credit line: Robert H. McCauley
Topics: Art
Transportation
McCauley Liverpool Pottery
Furnishings
Description: This creamware pitcher is transfer-printed with a depiction of the Portland Observatory located in Portland, Maine. The transfer-print of the Observatory is polychrome, as is the depiction of two unnamed brigs flying American flags on the reverse of the pitcher. Flanking the Observatory are the various signal flags that would have been flown on the western and eastern staffs of the observatory. Each signal has an “Explanation” near the bottom of the pitcher. Above the Observatory is the title “Signals at Portland Observatory.” On the handle is a black floral design and around the base, top, and spout are bold, black outlines
This pitcher is part of the McCauley collection of American themed transfer print pottery. There is no mark on the pitcher to tell us who made it, but it is characteristic of wares made in large volume for the American market in both Staffordshire and Liverpool between 1790 and 1820. Pitchers of this shape, with a cream colored glaze over a pale earthenware clay, known as Liverpool type, were the most common vessels to feature transfer prints with subjects commemorating events and significant figures in the early decades of United States’ history. Notwithstanding the tense relationship between Britain and America, Liverpool and Staffordshire printers and potters seized the commercial opportunity offered them in the production of transfer printed earthenwares celebrating the heroes, the military victories, and the virtues of the young republic, and frequently all of these things at once.
Pitcher, "Caleb Strong"
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: pitcher
place made: United Kingdom: England, Liverpool
Physical Description: monochrome, black (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, earthenware, refined (overall material)
transfer printed (overall production method/technique)
Measurements: overall: 5 1/2 in x 6 3/8 in x 4 in; 13.97 cm x 16.1925 cm x 10.16 cm
Credit line: Robert H. McCauley
Topics: Government
Social reformers
Politics
McCauley Liverpool Pottery
Furnishings
Description: This creamware pitcher is transfer-printed with the phrase “The GRATITUDE of / MASSACHUSETTS, / Follows CALEB STRONG to / NORTHAMPTON.” The reverse is printed with the phrase “Success to Our /NEW GOVERNOR! / GENERAL BROOKS.” Small in size as well as simply decorated, this pitcher provides a physical connection to the political scene of Massachusetts during the first two decades of the 19th century.
This pitcher is part of the McCauley collection of American themed transfer print pottery. There is no mark on the pitcher to tell us who made it, but it is characteristic of wares made in large volume for the American market in both Staffordshire and Liverpool between 1790 and 1820. Pitchers of this shape, with a cream colored glaze over a pale earthenware clay, known as Liverpool type, were the most common vessels to feature transfer prints with subjects commemorating events and significant figures in the early decades of United States’ history. Notwithstanding the tense relationship between Britain and America, Liverpool and Staffordshire printers and potters seized the commercial opportunity offered them in the production of transfer printed earthenwares celebrating the heroes, the military victories, and the virtues of the young republic, and frequently all of these things at once.
mug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Mug
date made: 18th century
maker: unknown
place made: United States: New England
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 4 in; 10.16 cm
overall: 4 in x 3 5/16 in x 2 1/2 in; 10.16 cm x 8.4455 cm x 6.35 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
bowl
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Bowl
date made: 18th century
maker: unknown
place made: United States: New Hampshire
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 2 1/4 in x 4 1/4 in; 5.715 cm x 10.795 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
pot, stew
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: pot, stew
date made: 1794- 1820
maker: Pecker, William
place made: United States: Massachusetts
United States: Massachusetts, Essex
United States: Massachusetts, Merrimacport
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 6 1/8 in x 6 1/4 in x 5 1/4 in; 15.5575 cm x 15.875 cm x 13.335 cm
overall: 6 1/4 in; 15.875 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
flowerpot
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: flowerpot
date made: circa 1775
maker: unknown
place made: United States: Massachusetts
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 6 1/8 in x 6 5/8 in; 15.5575 cm x 16.8275 cm
overall: 6 1/4 in; 15.875 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
pan
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Pan
date made: 18th century
maker: unknown
place made: United States: Massachusetts
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall fragment: 2 1/8 in x 10 in x 5 in; 5.3975 cm x 25.4 cm x 12.7 cm
overall fragment: 2 1/8 in x 10 3/16 in x 5 5/8 in; 5.3975 cm x 25.8445 cm x 14.2875 cm
overall: 10 1/4 in; x 26.035 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
date made: circa 1804
maker: Carpenter, Frederick
place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston, Charlestown
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 10 3/4 in; 27.305 cm
overall: 10 3/4 in x 8 1/4 in; 27.305 cm x 20.955 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
date made: circa 1804
maker: Carpenter, Frederick
place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston, Charlestown
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 15 1/2 in; 39.37 cm
overall: 15 1/4 in x 11 1/8 in; 38.735 cm x 28.2575 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
date made: circa 1804
maker: Carpenter, Frederick
place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
Physical Description: polychrome (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 5 1/2 in; 13.97 cm
overall: 5 5/16 in x 4 5/8 in; 13.5255 cm x 11.7475 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
date made: 1805-about 1818
maker: Cross, Peter
place made: United States: Connecticut
Physical Description: blue (overall color)
monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 13 5/8 in x 10 1/2 in x 10 1/4 in; 34.6075 cm x 26.67 cm x 26.035 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Stoneware water cooler
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: cooler, water
date made: early 1800s
place made: United States: Connecticut
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall approximate: 16 in x 13 in; 40.64 cm x 33.02 cm
Credit line: Gift of John Paul Remensnyder
Description: By the 1790s, American potters began to experiment with producing utilitarian household forms made of stoneware clay. Manufacture of this sturdy, impermeable wear was well advanced in Europe by this time. However, it was necessary for potters in the New World to locate suitable clays, and acquire the skills and technology necessary for the sophisticated demands of refining and firing stoneware.
Most stoneware was wheel-thrown, fired at extremely high temperatures (1200-1300 degrees centigrade), and formed of clay found primarily in New Jersey and the Carolinas. A smooth finish was obtained by the application of one of a number of glaze types. Depending on economic pressures or local custom, stoneware was most often covered with a clear salt-glaze, a thick brown "Albany slip" glaze, or a wood ash glaze that fired in glossy browns and greens. Salt-glazed stonewares were often slip or brush decorated with cobalt oxide, one of the few coloring options able to withstand the high temperatures in a stoneware kiln.
The National Museum of American History houses a large and important collection of utilitarian stonewares made in the United States from the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. These simple types of wares were indispensible tools in food storage and preparation in the United States for over two hundred and fifty years, until advances in refrigeration and canning reduced the demand for traditional utilitarian pottery after the late 1800s.
This early 1800s salt-glazed stoneware water pitcher is decorated with a man holding an arrow and standing in a tree, and is thought to
illustrate Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1845 poem "The Arrow and Song."
"I shot an arrow in the air
It fell to earth, I know not where
Long, long afterward in an oak
I found the arrow still unbroke."
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 7 7/8 in x 6 7/8 in; 20.0025 cm x 17.4625 cm
trivet, stacking
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: trivet, stacking
date made: circa 1801- 1810
maker: Fenton, Jonathan
place made: United States: Vermont, Dorset Hollow
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1/2 in x 2 5/16 in x 1 7/8 in; 1.27 cm x 5.9055 cm x 4.7625 cm
Credit line: Mrs. Charles H. Watkins
pad, kiln
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: pad, kiln
date made: circa 1801- 1810
maker: Fenton, Jonathan
place made: United States: Vermont, Dorset Hollow
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 5/16 in x 1 1/4 in; .8255 cm x 3.175 cm
Credit line: Mrs. Charles H. Watkins
bowl
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Bowl
date made: 1801-1876
maker: Dodge Pottery
place made: United States: Maine, Portland
Physical Description: ceramic, earthenware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 10.75 cm; x 4 1/4 in
overall: 5 1/8 in x 11 in; 13.0175 cm x 27.94 cm
Credit line: Mrs. Lura Woodside Watkins
Stoneware jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jug
date made: 1791-1831
maker: Remmey III, John
place made: United States: New York, Manhattan Island
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 29.8 cm x 12.2 cm; 11 23/32 in x 4 13/16 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: The Remmey family began producing pottery in New York City in 1735, when John Remmey I emigrated from Germany. His grandson, John Remmey III, took over the family business in 1793, continuing to produce some of the finest stoneware made in the United States at the time. The somewhat lopsided incised leaf design on this jug reminds us that each piece was made and decorated by hand.
Stoneware jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
date made: 1795-1830
maker: Remmey III, John
place made: United States: New York, Manhattan Island
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 19 cm x 17 cm; 7 15/32 in x 6 11/16 in
Credit line: Clare Shenehon Boyd
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: The Remmey and Crolius families dominated the New York stoneware industry from the early 1700s through the early 1800s. Both families emigrated from Germany, bringing with them the stoneware traditions of their homeland. Sometimes business associates, the two families also inter-married. Remmey family members went on to establish stoneware factories in Philadelphia and Baltimore, as well.
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
date made: 1795-1803
maker: Morgan, David
place made: United States: New York, Corlears Hook
Physical Description: blue (overall color)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 9 5/8 in x 6 1/2 in; 24.4475 cm x 16.51 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Stoneware jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
date made: 1795-1803
maker: Morgan, David
place made: United States: New York, Corlears Hook
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 28.8 cm x 19 cm; 11 11/32 in x 7 15/32 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: David Morgan worked for New York City potter John Crolius Jr., beginning in 1795. In 1798 he temporarily took over Thomas H. Commeraw’s kiln on Cherry Street near Corlear’s Hook in Manhattan. The mark “CORLEARS HOOK” can be found on many of the well-formed jars, jugs and pitchers attributed to Morgan.
Stoneware jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
date made: 1797-1819
maker: Commeraw, Thomas
place made: United States: New York, Corlears Hook
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 24.5 cm x 17.1 cm; 9 21/32 in x 6 23/32 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: While this jar is unmarked, it may be one of several in the Museum's collection made by Thomas Commeraw, a free black potter. Thomas Commeraw established his pottery in the Corlears Hook neighborhood of lower Manhattan in 1797, successfully competing with well known stoneware makers from the Crolious and Remmey families.
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
date made: 1793-1812
maker: Commeraw, Thomas
place made: United States: New York, Corlears Hook
Physical Description: blue (overall color)
monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 7 1/2 in x 7 11/16 in x 5 7/8 in; 19.05 cm x 19.4945 cm x 14.9225 cm
Credit line: From the John Paul Remensnyder collection
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
place made: United States: New Jersey
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 5 5/8 in x 4 1/8 in x 3 3/4 in; 14.2875 cm x 10.4775 cm x 9.525 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
place made: United States: New Jersey
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 7 1/8 in x 5 1/8 in x 4 7/8 in; 18.0975 cm x 13.0175 cm x 12.3825 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jug
place made: United States: New Jersey
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 8 1/8 in x 5 1/2 in x 5 3/8 in; 20.6375 cm x 13.97 cm x 13.68425 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
place made: United States: New Jersey
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 10 1/2 in x 10 in; 26.67 cm x 25.4 cm
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Stoneware chamber pot
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: chamberpot
date made: 1806-1833
c1806-1833
maker: Cushman, Paul
place made: United States: New York, Albany
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 16.5 cm x 20 cm; 6 1/2 in x 7 7/8 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: Chamber pots were found in many homes in the United States before the advent of modern indoor plumbing. While some chamber pots were elaborately decorated, this example, made by Paul Cushman of Albany, New York, is strictly utilitarian. The piece is incised only with the name of the potter.
Stoneware jug
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jug
date made: 1805-1813
maker: Clark, Nathan
Howe, Thomas
place made: United States: New York, Athens
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 42 cm x 45 cm; 16 17/32 in x 17 23/32 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: The conclusion of the War of 1812 devastated many American potteries as the importation of less expensive, foreign-made wares resumed, mostly from Great Britain and Holland. While a number of potteries went out of business, the Clark and Howe pottery in Athens, New York employed more men than any other pottery in the state, and even expanded into northwestern New York. The firm was in part responsible for sustaining the local economy, paying $1,750 in wages in 1812 (equal to over $22,000 today).
Stoneware butter jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: jar
butter jar
jar, butter
date made: 1805-1813
maker: Clark, Nathan
Howe, Thomas
place made: United States: New York, Athens
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 32 cm x 23 cm; 12 19/32 in x 9 1/16 in
Credit line: John Paul Remensnyder
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
New York Stoneware
Furnishings
Food
Description: This salt-glazed stoneware butter jar is decorated with hand applied cobalt, and is one of the earliest pieces made at the Athens, New York pottery established in 1805 by Nathan Clark and his brother-in-law, Thomas Howe. Howe died in 1813 leaving Clark to run and expand the company. He established subsidiaries in Kingston, Lyons, Rochester and Mt. Morris, New York between 1813 and 1838. The firm prospered until the end of the 1800s.
Pickle stand
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Dish, Sweetmeat
stand, pickle
sweet meat stand
date made: 1770-72
maker: Bonnin & Morris
place made: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Physical Description: monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 5 1/2 in x 7 1/2 in; 13.97 cm x 19.05 cm
overall: 5 1/4 in x 7 in; 13.335 cm x 17.78 cm
Credit line: The Barra Foundation, Inc.
Description: The first successful American porcelain manufactory in colonial times was the American China Manufactory, established in Philadelphia by Gousse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris in 1770. Bonnin and Morris sought out employees who were trained in European porcelain traditions and techniques to ensure high quality American porcelain ware. Bonnin and Morris created soft-paste porcelain by using clay from the Delaware River mixed with heated and oxidized crushed bones. The blue-and-white painted decoration referred to popular European chinoisserie; a decorative style that emerged in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-centuries based on fanciful European interpretations and appropriations of traditional Chinese decoration.
The American China Manufactory produced wares for elite patrons such as John Cadwalader, Thomas Wharton, and Deborah Franklin (Benjamin’s wife). The most ambitiously designed and the most expensive object was the American China Manufactory pickle stand. Only nineteen objects from the American China Manufactory survive today, and of those, six are pickle stands.
Pickle stands, also known as sweetmeat stands, emerged in the mid-eighteenth-century with a new dining fashion, inspired by the French, of serving pickled fruits and vegetables with dessert. Manufactories in Europe, including Bow, Liverpool, Lowestoft, Plymouth, and Worcester, also produced porcelain pickle and sweetmeat stands.
The use of the shell motif is appropriate to porcelain since the name itself has roots in the French and Italian words for “cowrie shell.” (French: pourcelaine; Italian: porcellana) The porcelain shells on the pickle stand produced by the American China Manufactory are probably molded from life; actual shells were used to create the porcelain molds. Molding from life is a technique that has been used throughout decorative art history and is especially known through the work of sixteenth century potter, Bernard Palissy. It is believed that more than seventy separate life-molds were used to create this pickle stand. In contrast, many of the shells on the European versions of the pickle stand are approximations, molded by hand.
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
date made: circa 1804
maker: Carpenter, Frederick
place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
United States: Massachusetts, Boston, Charlestown
Physical Description: ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 14 1/4 in; 36.195 cm
overall approximate: 13 7/8 in x 13 in; 35.2425 cm x 33.02 cm
Credit line: Lura Woodside Watkins
jar
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Jar
date made: 1805-about 1818
maker: Cross, Peter
place made: United States: Connecticut, Hartford
Physical Description: blue (overall color)
monochrome, blue (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, stoneware, coarse (overall material)
Measurements: overall approximate: 13 1/8 in x 10 1/4 in; 33.3375 cm x 26.035 cm
plate
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Plate
plate
date made: 1808
place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
Physical Description: monochrome, brown (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 5/16 in x 9 5/16 in; 3.33375 cm x 23.65375 cm
Sevres porcelain plate
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Plate
plate
date made: 1808
maker: Sevres
place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
Physical Description: monochrome, brown (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
neoclassical female figure with bowl (joint piece style)
Measurements: overall: 1 1/4 in x 9 1/4 in; 3.175 cm x 23.495 cm
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
Art
Furnishings
Sevres porcelain plate
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Plate
plate
date made: 1807-1808
maker: Sevres
place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
Physical Description: monochrome, brown (overall surface decoration color name)
ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 1 1/4 in x 9 1/4 in; 3.175 cm x 23.495 cm
Topics: Manufacturing industries
Industrialization
Art
Furnishings
cup; saucer
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: cup
saucer
date made: 1804
place made: France: Île-de-France, Sevres
Physical Description: red (cup color)
red (saucer color)
monochrome, green (component surface decoration color name)
portrait of man (joint piece description of decoration)
portrait of man (overall description of decoration)
ceramic, porcelain, hard-paste (cup material)
ceramic, porcelain, hard-paste (saucer material)
Measurements: overall cup: 2 1/2 in x 3 5/16 in x 2 1/2 in; 6.35 cm x 8.41375 cm x 6.35 cm
overall saucer: 1 1/8 in x 5 1/8 in; 2.8575 cm x 13.0175 cm