STONEWARE COLLECTING GUIDE

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Collecting antique stoneware is a very rewarding and a fun hobby which has hundreds of paths one could travel. Some stoneware collectors have a specific lane of stoneware they collect, others love the design and decorating aspect. Whichever it is, (and sometimes it's both), here is an overview and stoneware guide.

The basis of antique stoneware is rooted in American history. That history could apply to your home town, your home state or could apply just in general to American history as a whole. We know collectors with backgrounds and family lineage going back generations to other parts of the world that find fascination in the journey their fore-bearers took coming to this country, so it could even be global history. One thing is certain which is, that each collector has their own eye. This means that each collector sees in these forms, histories, colors, artistry, backgrounds and makers, something they like to be around. Something that makes them happy and something that fulfills a part of their life which is very private yet happy to be shown off and discussed.

Our story with collecting antique stoneware began as a fun side hobby. The more we learned the deeper the meaning became. This evidence of early Americans settling our country is one of just a few places you can go to learn how America unfolded. It's all there, in clay, in front of you. AND YOU CAN OWN IT!

In the 1600's and 1700's (mostly) early Americans made red ware or earthenware. Even into the 1900's red ware was still being made. This is another great area to collect, but much much harder to figure out who made it, when, why and where. Most is not stamped or signed by the makers. Some red ware is intricate and incredible and like stoneware, some is utilitarian and plain. This is all in the collectors eye and is opinion not factual. Some see vast beauty in the primitive nature of early pieces.

Starting in the mid 1700's potteries in America began making stoneware and as time went on began stamping their names and towns on their ware. This allows for documentation and answers the questions of who, where, and when. Then you can attach that information to the historical record of that person(pottery), that town city or village and the date at which this all happened.

The stories of perseverance, courage, dedication and grit are amazing and the more you learn the deeper it gets. There are stories of adventure, risk taking, innovation, patriotism and of course artistic prowess. It may be, that you JUST LIKE THE LOOK OF IT!

Visit the museums! New York State Museum (Albany N.Y.), Bennington Museum (Bennington VT) are great places to start and have huge collections of amazing stoneware.

GOOD HUNTING! If you find something let us know we will help!

American antique salt glazed stoneware collecting makes a great hobby and a historically deep and important study of our culture. The manufacture of this ware encompasses a very long lineage of trial and error processes that evolved into the stunning pieces you see here on our website. This work was done largely in the 1700's and 1800's here is America by talented and hard working artisans driven to make quality ware for the American home.

One question that comes up regularly from beginning collectors is , " What IS salt glaze?"

Salt glazing stoneware was a process that was first brought to America by immigrants arriving on our shores from Europe in the 1700's. Until this process was introduced to our society, only red ware or earthenware was being manufactured. Red ware is made of red clay which was easily found in most areas of The United States. Farmers would locate and mine red clay and use the winter months to make primitive plates, tankards, bowls, crocks, flasks and more. Some farmers made ware just for use in their home, others made extra and sold or bartered them in the spring when they could fire the kiln. Red ware had some short falls in that the ware was brittle and easily broken. It also was somewhat porous and did not hold liquids for a long period of time.

When the artisans from Europe brought the art of making salt glazed stoneware to America it changed every household in the country. Stoneware clay was much more sturdy and held liquids for an extended period allowing for canning and the making of preserves. Stoneware gave our early Americans a way to preserve food over the winter and provide fresh food to their families. This was VERY important in those early years.

Imagine not having your fridge or freezer!

The process began with the clay. In The United States the first stoneware clay deposits were found in and around New York and New Jersey. Along the Raritan Bay near Cheesequake opposite from New York City on the coast of New Jersey, a huge stoneware clay deposit was found in the 1700's and mining there took place until the Industrial Revolution ended the stoneware era around 1900. That deposit along with others in Long Island and surrounding Long Island Sound supplied a lot of America's stoneware clay for over 100 years.

The clay that was mined needed to be distributed, so this was done by two methods originally and then a third later on. Initially, the clay was cut into raw blocks and loaded on horse or ox drawn wagons and hauled overland to the pottery or to a distribution dock where the clay was barged to another dock to be picked up once gain by wagon and taken to the pottery. Later on, when the railroads were built, clay was loaded by rail and distributed that way.

The potter would need to clear the clay of impurities consisting of small mineral particles and pebbles lodged in the raw clay. The clay was cleaned in a pug mill, usually powered by a horse or ass, pulling a circular grinder that mashed the clay as it moved, crushing the impurities. If these impurities remained in the pottery and ended up in the kiln they would expand in the heat and actually explode causing small damage to that piece and pieces near it in the kiln.  When impurities missed in the process expanded they are called "stone pops" or "mineral pops" a common occurrence. Once cleaned, the potter could make the ware by "throwing" or "turning" the clay on a kick wheel. The ware would be set on a drying rack, dried and then glazed for firing in the kiln. Most stoneware was fired upside down as the interiors would be washed with an iron-based slip glaze. After the glaze dried, now it was time to load and fire the kiln. Some estimates speak of ten or more cords of hardwood needing to be loaded in the one, two or possibly three days of firing, in the wood burning kiln. Temperatures needed to reach 2200 degrees for an extended time to harden the stoneware to rock hard consistency.

STONEware!

Shortly before the firing was over and at the peek of the blazing hot temperatures, the potter would climb to the top of the kiln, open a small hatch and pour in buckets of salt. The amount was predicated on the size of the kiln and the amount of ware fired. The salt would immediately vaporize in the intense heat of the kiln, form a wet gas and this would settle on the stoneware inside, evenly coating the exterior of the ware. This salt glaze would harden as the kiln cooled and the coating would turn to a glass-like surface on the outside of the ware. This helped the stoneware become very durable and strong. It also gave the pottery a clean, shiny, finished look which held liquids for extended periods of time.

This was the finishing touch to a process developed through trial and error over hundreds of years and thought first developed in Europe.

The journey through collecting stoneware is one of personal growth. The example you buy today may not be your choice a few years from now. It's also common to have picked a lane and end up sticking to it.

Our experience has been one of morphing from one stoneware passion to another. We have learned quite a bit about the struggles of pioneer potters and love their work and what it represents. The pride instilled in their work, to us, is admirable. These examples come from all over the Northeastern section of the USA. Our good friend and colleague picked a lane 35 years ago and has stuck with it. He collects regionally important stoneware, made within 100 miles of his home. So in short, understand it's a journey and enjoy! If you find yourself owning something a year from now that doesn't fit the direction you seem to be moving, it's ok! We help collectors with changes to their collections all the time. If it's time to sell something call us!

The example in the picture here is one of the first documented stoneware examples from the famed Norton Pottery of Bennington, Vermont. Passed down through the Norton family, it holds a great history. To us, it is quite organically beautiful and primitive. The parrot crock above is also a Norton example from Worcester, Massachusetts, and made some 50+ years later. Each quite different in their own right, but both quite beautiful in different ways. The leafy ovoid crock in the second picture comes from Philadelphia at the Remmey Pottery in the mid 1800's. Another lane and another passion, quite different again from the others. There are hundreds of "lanes" in stoneware collecting and everyone finds what their eye loves. It is purely a different experience for every individual. Relax about it, muse and reflect...your inner passion will let you know.

Glazes used on antique American Stoneware were generally, cobalt and Albany or iron-slip glazes. There were also other uses of glazes we will discuss as we go.

Cobalt glaze is the blue coloration that makes our American antique stoneware so beautiful. The glaze itself was purchased for the most part by the potteries in powder form and was mostly imported from England or other parts of Europe. It was a very high expense to the potter and during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 at a complete premium. The glaze was mixed with water to form a paste and brushed or hand applied to early stoneware. Later stoneware made use of a slip cup or a quill cup. These were similar to cake decorators and when filled with the now liquid cobalt glaze could leave a trail of the glaze behind as it was moved across the stoneware vessel. Artisans would create farm scenes, animal or birds, scripted company names or multitudes of flower varieties. There was really no end to the creativity, as the better your ware looked, the faster it sold!

Interior glazes were almost always iron-based in nature. One glazed largely used in the Northeast was Albany slip, although many variations of this were also used. Albany slip glaze got it's name from the city itself as the glaze minerals were mined from the banks of the Hudson River in New York State in gigantic quantities. It was said that so much of this was mined, the river's course began to change, worrying surrounding towns of the possibility of flooding as an issue. Albany slip, when fired becomes a tan or reddish brown color and applied thinly sometimes turned a golden yellow. Interior glazes were generally applied as a wash as the vessel would get a dip of slip put into it. The potter would slosh it around to coat the interior fully and the remainder, returned to the supply. The stoneware would be left to dry upside down until the slip dried completely. The interior glazes were applied before the exterior artistry took place.

Cobalt and slip glazes were the glazes used predominantly, however, these are not the only glazes used by potters of the 18th and 19th centuries as some used manganese, ocher, Bristol, Rockingham or many, many others to coat the beautiful stoneware of early America.

This stunning Whittemore crock from Havana, New York, shows use of a slip cup that helped decorate the crock in the rich blue cobalt glaze.

In the outside world of stoneware collecting, there are antique shows, shops, and conglomerate antique malls that have some selection of antique stoneware. There are also the garage sales, estate sales, flea markets and on-line websites to look in. This is all in the eyes of many collectors, so the more you know about what you are seeing the greater the chance of finding something awesome. The treasures ARE out there!

The best of American Stoneware is held by museums. The Bennington Museum in Vermont and the New York State Museum in Albany, have the finest of collections of Northeastern stoneware on display. There are others in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and just about all our American States that have nice collections. These museums are WORTH the trip. Going away on vacation? Check to see what museum is in your path!

Then there are the private collections. These are owned by everyone from the billionaire class to the local collector. Some collectors have been collecting for their entire lives others are new to it, but there are GREAT examples in the homes of collectors all across America. 

This is an age old problem. How does a person who just started collecting know a good value?

Buying stoneware is best done by using your basic computer skills on-line to check out our on-line auctions. 

Here's our case for why this is absolutely true.

*We offer fresh stoneware choices each week. We present our stoneware with the maximum 12 pictures and a complete history if possible and a good condition report. So no hidden issues. 

*Most conventional localized auctions have fees the buyer must pay after the bidding ends. The average is about 20% of the final bid amount. We do not do this! There are no added fees with our auctions. 

*Most conventional localized auctions do not have great "next business day" shipping at low cost to the buyer. We do!

The stoneware we offer is at FAIR low retail pricing...in other words you can't make a mistake by entering a bid. We would never offer stoneware for too much money on an opening bid...we would never get any bids!  We also cannot offer stoneware under-valued as we have an investment in the stoneware ourselves and must make some kind of profit to keep the lights lit!

Last year we auctioned about 500 pieces of stoneware this way. The bids become what someone sees as value. You can stop increasing your bid anytime and bail out...or you can hang in and make it your own...your option. This is a failsafe method to only pay what you feel is fair and only pay what the market sees as correct market value!

ALL other methods leave you wondering IF you did the right thing or not.

Establishing market value for stoneware on your own is a study in experience and takes years to master. Our auctions help guide you to the right amount of money for the stoneware you love. No mistakes.

We are the only stoneware auction offered nationally that gives the buyer new weekly opportunities, a history of the stoneware example, collect NO fees after the bidding and safely ships next business day at a low cost.

Great hunting and we hope to see you soon!

We have a service that for the beginning collector is free! if you want to know the value of the stoneware you own or are thinking of buying...call us! We charge a fee for larger or more advanced collections for appraisal but for the beginners we offer a free estimate.

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