this post has been repeated from August 4th, 2012
As a fan of early 19th
century American stoneware it was exciting to come across a large shapely three
gallon crock with an unfamiliar name on it, Peter Cross Hartford, at a local show way down here in the Texas
Hill Country. The large open mouth
vessel had all of the earmarks of a very early piece: ovoid form, some scars
from the kiln as well as extra details around the neck. I estimated the date of manufacture at around
1815 because of those features. Needless
to say I added it to my collection. I was able to find it in my reference books
(before I had Google) and see that Peter Cross operated a pottery from 1805
until about 1815 in two locations on Front St. in Hartford. Not many of his marked pieces have survived
and are quite sought after.
Peter
Cross sold his first pottery location in 1810 to Goodwin and Webster and opened another
that he sold in 1815 to Benton and Stewart.
They employed a potter named Daniel Goodale jr. who later bought the
pottery in 1822. Goodale made pottery
there until 1830 when Goodwin and Webster took over that pottery as
well.
My
Benton and Stewart jug was found at Brimfield and came with the story that those
were the names of two retired sea captains that decided to go into the stoneware
business. It was pleasantly ovoid shaped and had a series of rings around its
neck which pretty much dates it 1820 or earlier. My research did show that they were indeed
retired sea captains. Sometimes the
story does match up with the facts. Very
few pieces with that mark show up.
The
Goodale crock was also found at Brimfield on another trip. It appears to retain its original lid which
is unusual and features a nice bulbous form and Hartford mark which appealed to
me.
The
Goodwin and Webster pot was found in one of our favorite shops in Willington
Connecticut. Although not rare, pots turned out by Goodwin and Webster are
usually shapely and stylish. They were probably the most successful of the early
Connecticut potters.
All
four of our pots are related and were made in close proximity to one another, a
fact that I didn’t realize when I bought them.
I think it only fitting that they now sit side by side although they are
many miles from Hartford. Jack