New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

ceramics

A Delft Tile Mystery at Schuyler Flatts, Hudson River

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Circa 1650 delft tile with standing figure of a North American Eastern Woodland Indian manDelft tiles are traditional, tin-glazed earthenware originating from the Netherlands as early as the 16th century. They are best known for their distinctive blue-and-white or polychrome hand-painted designs.

Developed in the Dutch city of Delft during the late 1500s as a local response to imported Chinese porcelain, these tiles were popular in New Netherland and New York, and were used on walls, hearths, and fireplace surrounds. [Read more…] about A Delft Tile Mystery at Schuyler Flatts, Hudson River

Women & The Hidden History of Delftware

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Beyond Blue and White History of DelftwareDelftware is a renowned type of tin-glazed earthenware, predominantly featuring white pottery with blue cobalt designs, originating in The Netherlands during the 17th century to mimic Chinese porcelain.

When over seventy-five pieces of 17th and 18th century Delftware were rediscovered in an historic Manhattan townhouse, decorative art advisor and writer Genevieve Wheeler Brown recognized the pieces could tell an amazing story. [Read more…] about Women & The Hidden History of Delftware

Cellar Holes and Old Foundations

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The former Perrin Farm in Massachusetts in the late 19th centuryAs I kneel digging in the dirt of the gently collapsing stone foundation, birds singing, knees aching, and dirt permanently embedded under my fingernails, I try to imagine life here in Vershire, Vermont, in the 1880s.

I’ve been excavating the bottle caches and midden (trash) heaps of this foundation for three years now, sifting artifacts from the soil. I’m trying to assemble the story of the people who lived here 140 years before me, to anchor myself and my partner within a broader continuity of relationship with this land. [Read more…] about Cellar Holes and Old Foundations

Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

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Detail from Risso & Browne, “Afong Moy, the Chinese Lady," 1835 (New York Public Library)The tradition of freak shows in Europe dates back to the sixteenth century. Medical “monstrosities” became standard components of traveling exhibitions. During the nineteenth century such shows caught the imagination of large viewing (and paying) audiences.

Human exhibits were presented for public entertainment and the parade of “freaks of nature” was a booming business. With the expansion of colonialism, the emphasis changed from physical to racial characteristics. Displays of exotic but “backward” populations (“human zoos”) became common in the 1870s in the midst of imperialist ambitions. [Read more…] about Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

The North Creek Mosaic Project: Arts, Community, Nature and Recreation

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North Creek Mosaic Project rafting and tubing on the Hudson River (Wendy Hobday Haugh)For people of all ages, the North Creek Mosaic Project is an extraordinary must-see. This stunning 220-foot long, 4-11-foot tall mosaic wall showcases the wonders of the Adirondack region, from its diverse flora and fauna to its countless fun, four-season recreational activities.

Prominently located on Main Street in North Creek, a quaint hamlet in the Town of Johnsburg, in northern Warren County, the wall stands as a testament to what a community can accomplish when people work together for a common cause. [Read more…] about The North Creek Mosaic Project: Arts, Community, Nature and Recreation

Brooklyn’s Little Staffordshire: Pottery & Chain Migration

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A detail from Andrew Stevenson's platter "New York from Heights near Brooklyn," a Staffordshire blue roast dish from ca. 1825 (Brooklyn Museum)The village of Red Hook (Roode Hoek = Red Corner) was established by Dutch colonists in 1636 and named after the locality’s red clay soil. Two decades later its community became part of Brooklyn.

During the 1650s, settlers brought over ovens from the Low Countries to supply fellow colonists with household vessels. Manhattan’s production of red earthenware is thought to have begun with Dirck Claesen, a potter based in the New Amsterdam settlement. [Read more…] about Brooklyn’s Little Staffordshire: Pottery & Chain Migration

Kaolin Clay Smoking Pipes: History Fragments With Stories To Tell

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A kaolin smoking pipe, probably made by Robert Tippet [1] and found in New York City in 1981 (NYC Archaeological Repository)During the 1987 excavations at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, Montgomery County, NY, Archeologists Charles Fisher and Kevin Moody unearthed dozens of clay pipe fragments.

These kaolin clay smoking pipes are wonderful evidence of the sociological aspects of the early settlement in the area and the garrisoning of Fort Hunter. Of those fragments, at least 15 were indicated to be of manufacture by the R. Tippet family of pipe-makers in Bristol, England. [Read more…] about Kaolin Clay Smoking Pipes: History Fragments With Stories To Tell

Rediscovered Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw

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Thomas W. Commeraw stonewareThe pottery of Thomas W. Commeraw, a stoneware manufacturer working in the city of New York during 1797-1819, has been acquired by American museums since the early twentieth century.

Always assumed to be a white potter of European descent, Commeraw’s remarkable life story languished in obscurity until a chance encounter with a census record sent collector, auctioneer and author Brandt Zipp on a long journey to bring it to light. [Read more…] about Rediscovered Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw

Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region

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Lamoka Site diorama at the New York State MuseumAccording to archeological records, groups of nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled through the Finger Lakes region approximately 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Small bands of these hunters and gatherers followed large game during the last stages of the Ice Age when the glaciers that formed the area’s notable lakes were receding.

Somewhat more recent early archaic archeological sites scattered across Western New York reflect a culture that was highly mobile and left little in terms of an archeological record. [Read more…] about Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region

Revolutionary Things: Material Culture & Politics in the Atlantic World

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Revolutionary ThingsIn her new book Revolutionary Things: Material Culture & Politics in the Late Eighteenth- Century Atlantic World (Yale University Press, 2023), Ashli White of the University of Miami, explores the circulation of material culture during the America, French, and Haitian revolutions.
[Read more…] about Revolutionary Things: Material Culture & Politics in the Atlantic World

Archer M. Huntington: Titan Arts Patron of New York City

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As New York City reached its Silver Jubilee in 1923, one of the ways it celebrated 25 years since its formation as a greater city uniting the five boroughs was to have residents vote on the six people who had done the city the most good. Who made the Big Apple’s early honor list? [Read more…] about Archer M. Huntington: Titan Arts Patron of New York City

Long Island’s Brown Brothers Pottery Podcast

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long island history project logoPottery was once an important economic driver on Long Island, with readily available clay along the North Shore providing the basis for a profitable industry.

Local collector Mark Smith has made a particular study of one such concern, a business in Huntington that spanned most of the 19th century and into the 20th.

In this episode of The Long Island History Project, Mark relays the history of Brown Brothers (and their Huntington successors and predecesors) using his private collection of pottery as illustration. [Read more…] about Long Island’s Brown Brothers Pottery Podcast

Fort Ticonderoga Acquires 1810s Staffordshire Pitcher

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1810s Staffordshire Pitcher courtesy Fort TiconderogaFort Ticonderoga recently acquired a unique ceramic pitcher, which is decorated with printed designs and text. The text includes a quote from Thomas Jefferson, from his first inaugural address. The pitcher was made in the 1810s in the Staffordshire Potteries, in England.

Due in part to the availability of clay, salt, lead and coal, potteries around Staffordshire formed a center of ceramic production in the early 1600s. By the late 1700s, North Staffordshire was the largest producer of ceramics in Britain. In the 19th century Staffordshire pottery was widely distributed around the world. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Acquires 1810s Staffordshire Pitcher

Unique Stoneware Jug Depicting Entertainment Acquired

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acrobat jug detailA four-gallon stoneware jug manufactured by Fulper Bros. in Flemington, New Jersey during the 1880s is now part of the New York State Museum’s Weitsman Collection of American Stoneware. Now on display at the State Museum, the historically significant piece of stoneware was recently acquired for the Museum by stoneware collector and benefactor, Adam Weitsman.

According to an announcement release to the press today, “The acrobat jug, a sought-after example of decorated American stoneware, has been breaking stoneware record prices at auction for decades and Weitsman had wanted the piece for over thirty years.” Weitsman recently purchased the jug from Allen Katz Americana the statement says. [Read more…] about Unique Stoneware Jug Depicting Entertainment Acquired

State Museum Aquires Unique Stoneware

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After hiding away in private collections – and a California coat closet – for nearly 200 years, a unique piece of early American decorative art is returning home to New York, where it will be housed at the New York State Museum thanks to collector Adam Weitsman. Weitsman, President of Upstate Shredding, also donated a monumental jug, two water coolers considered important by the museum and a gallon jug decorated with the image of a ship. [Read more…] about State Museum Aquires Unique Stoneware

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