Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-03
RARE OLD CROCKERY,
A Philadelphia Dredgcr Makes q Find
In the Delaware River.
From the philadelphin LEDGER

- q
In the Delaware River.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Very unexpectedly. one day last month
the dredge Asia brought up from the sane
of Five Mile Bar a grapple full Of river bot
tom, in which one of the men attending
to the machinery discovered what appear
ed to be a plate and cup. On a closer
examination being made, it was found
that hidden in the several cubic yards OF
sand and mud lifted from the bottom were
several pieces OF old crockery. The
broken pieces were picked out of the ma
terial after 1t had been dumped into the
scow beside the dredge, and a careful
watch was made for more. In every CRAP
pie full there were several pieces; the men
on the dredge fastened to secure them.
Captain Mackenzie, mindful Of his duty
to his employers. gave his crew little op-
portunity to get the desired dishes and as
each succeeding grappleful was dumped
into the scow most OF the pieces Of crock
cry brought UP were buried in the 10
cubic yaD1s OF sand and mud in the scow
and taken down the river and dumped be-
hind Marcus Hook bar. In all probability
80 or 800 whole pieces We're secur, d, while
much greater number were hid in the
mass OF material lifted from the river
and are now resting once more on another
part Of the river bottom. The whole pieces
were plates, cups, saucers, bowls and two
and Of different makes and designs.
How the crockery was lost in the river is
a mystery, which is made deeper by the
fact that II was found beneath fifteen feet
OF mud and sand al total depth OF be-
tween twenty-six and twenty-eght feet
below the surface Of the river at low wa
ter. No one can more than guess how
long IL had been there, but In all prob
ability the ware has lain undisturbed in the
river bottom for at least fifty sixty
years. This submarine mine Of crockery
was located between 1900 and 1000 feet
below the new Pennsylvania railroad
bridge at Bridesburg. in the middle of the
river on the crest of Five Mile Bar.
A Few timbers were found at the same
point, but nothing to indicate that they
were part of the frame Of vessel which
had sunk and rotted away. Yet the num-
Der of dishes found seems to be conclusive
evidence that they We're part of the cargo
of vessel arriving from foreign ports
The packages containing the dishes NAV
have fallen overheard from the deck of
some vessel but the location is not one
that was ever used for discharging cargoes
The only thing found that could be said
with any certainty to have been part of
the packages containing the crockery was
one end of a crate, and to that no one paid
much attention.
1t was difficult to ascertain what kind of
| ware the dishes fished up from the river
| bottom were. They were in a very good
state Of preservation, Notwithstanding the
years they had been buried beneath water
and sand. Some of the pieces were almost
| perfect, and on none was the coloring dim
| med a particle. A few were a little dis
| coiored in spots, and the glaze OF most Of
| them was slightly cracked.
| 1t was generally agreed by experts to
! whom the dishes were shown that the ware
was English but the estimates of the age
varied from sixty to one hundred years.
None OF the pieces were hand-painted all
| being stamped with the design and as the
| designs were conventional and not par
| ticularly artistic, the ware does not have
any great value to collectors.
After Edwin A. Barber, curator Of the
| collection Of ceramics at Memorial Hail.
| Paramount Park, who is one of the best
authorities in the country old china
| and crockery, had examined two of the old
| dishes, he said it was Staffordshire stone
| china or white china, a grade of earthen-
| ware made from 1885 to 1910 Pieces bear
ing the name of Wedgewood, he said. were
| not made by the celebrated Josiah Wedge
| wood, who died in 1895, but probably by
| some member of the same family.