Kurt C. Russ and W. Sterling Schermerhorn
Rocketts’ Red Glare: John P. Schermerhorn and the Early Richmond-Area Stoneware Industry

Ceramics in America 2005

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Schermerhorn coat of arms. (Frontispiece, Richard Schermerhorn Jr., Schermerhorn Genealogy and Family Chronicles, 1914.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Schermerhorn’s original $300 mortgage to Morgan, dated May 27, 1809, as recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and prominently witnessed by Judge Jacob Van Wickle’s daughters. Judge Van Wickle was a principal in the Old Bridge, New Jersey, pottery concern in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and also owned land on the southwest end of Old Bridge, near Schermerhorn’s newly acquired property.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Hand-colored lithographed map, F. W. Beers and Co., 3, 1872. The pottery towns in the Middlesex County area (South Amboy, Old Bridge, Cheesequake, and Sayreville [Roundabout]) are shown here, along with the likely location of the pot house and land that John Schermerhorn bought an interest in from James Morgan Jr. in May 1809.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Detail, A Plan of the City of Richmond, Richard Young, 1809–1810. (Courtesy, Library of Virginia.) This plan shows the proximity of the DuVal and Schermerhorn stoneware manufactories to Rocketts Landing and the James River.

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Notice, The Daily Compiler (Richmond), July 9, 1814. The sarcastic wording in this newspaper clipping reveals John P. Schermerhorn’s offended reaction to an advertisement placed by Benjamin DuVal that apparently affronted (and perhaps dishonored) him.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Advertisement placed by John P. Schermerhorn, Richmond Commercial Compiler, October 3, 1820, p. 3, col. 3.

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Extended view of the J. P. Schermerhorn Stoneware Factory at Rocketts, as well as Montezuma, his nearby residence in Fairfield. The view is from a map made in the 1860s (George B. Davis et al., The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War [Avenel, N.J.: Gramercy Books, 1983], pl. XIX, no. 1) and shows the Fairfield vicinity of Henrico County where Schermerhorn built his home and its proximity to his James River factory at Rocketts.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Contemporary photograph of the Georgian revival edifice rebuilt in 1910 on the same site of John P. Schermerhorn’s Montezuma. (Photo, W. Sterling Schermerhorn.) The original structure followed the same plan as this house on the Mechanicsville Turnpike just northeast of Richmond.

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Courtesy, Old Salem, Inc., Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts; photo, MESDA.) This ovoid storage jar, decorated with brushed-cobalt floral motifs involving horizontal vines interspersed with alternating round blossoms, is stamped with Schermerhorn’s maker’s mark, which includes a leaflike flourish.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 17 1/2". Mark, below handles: “5.” Capacity: 5 gallons. (Private collection; unless otherwise noted, all photos by Gavin Ashworth.) This large, ovoid storage jar is stamped with a vivid maker’s mark and, with its brushed-cobalt floral motifs of horizontally flowing vines interspersed with round blossoms, is one of the most significant signed surviving vessels made by Schermerhorn.

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

     Detail of the stamped maker’s mark with stamped cartouches on the vessel illustrated in fig. 9. (Old Salem, Inc., Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts; photo, MESDA.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) This monumental storage jar displays the characteristic Schermerhorn rounded rim, well-defined collar/neck, and extruded crescent-shaped handles brushed with blue cobalt and placed high on the shoulder. Centered on one side is an incised federal-style eagle filled with blue cobalt. On the reverse are floral vines separating two rounded blossoms.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) Shown upside down, this ovoid storage jar is embellished with a blue floral vine, which connects leaves opposite opposing rounded flowers along the shoulder, as well as an inverted incised ship.

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) The incised and cobalt-decorated long-legged bird on this ovoid storage jar appears to be nibbling on a cobalt flower with cobalt festoons above. The reverse is decorated with the most common motif used by Schermerhorn, opposing floral blossoms separated by flowing vines.

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15". Mark, below rim: stamped “5.” Capacity: 5 gallons. (Private collection.) This ovoid vessel displays a well-defined incised and cobalt-filled rooster, or game cock, standing on horizontal cobalt festoons similar to those above the bird illustrated in fig. 14.

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 3/4". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) A simple, brushed, blue-cobalt horizontal vine decorates both sides of this robust ovoid jar with pronounced neck, rounded rim, and highly placed extruded crescent-shaped handles.

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/4". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 9 1/8". Capacity: 1 gallon. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 11 3/4". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) An excellent example of Schermerhorn’s early Richmond production, this thick-walled, well-formed ovoid vessel has a pronounced rounded rim, highly placed crescent-shaped handles brushed with cobalt, and horizontal vines and two prominent round floral blossoms.

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 3/4". Mark, beneath each handle: “3.” (Private collection.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/4". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Kurt C. Russ.) This ovoid stoneware vessel with its pronounced rounded rim and applied crescent handles exhibits a bold brushed-cobalt open-petaled flower oriented horizontally and extending from a large cluster of cobalt leaves. In underglaze cobalt lettering on its base is written “Shafter Edward Drinkard.”

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    Detail of the inscription on the base of the storage jar illustrated in fig. 25.

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.) This ovoid storage jar is decorated on one side with a brushed-cobalt profile of a man—perhaps a “man-in-the-moon”—and, on the other side, an underscored capacity mark (“2”).

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 10". Capacity: 1 gallon. (Private collection.) Embellished on the front of this ovoid storage jar is a primitive cobalt slip–decorated eagle with extended wings, a shielded chest, and talons holding, respectively, an olive branch and an arrow. On the reverse is a similar eagle, with an olive branch in both talons.

  • Figure 30a
    Figure 30a

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.) On one side of this large, elongated vessel is a cobalt capacity mark—“4”—elaborately underscored with horizontal blue lines and squiggle mark. On the other side is an incised profile of a man highlighted with blue, and, incised across the figure’s collar, is “john p.” The image is presumed to be the signed self-portrait of the vessel’s maker, John P. Schermerhorn.

  • Figure 30b
    Figure 30b

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.) On one side of this large, elongated vessel is a cobalt capacity mark—“4”—elaborately underscored with horizontal blue lines and squiggle mark. On the other side is an incised profile of a man highlighted with blue, and, incised across the figure’s collar, is “john p.” The image is presumed to be the signed self-portrait of the vessel’s maker, John P. Schermerhorn.

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Detail of the incised profile depicted on the jar illustrated in fig. 30

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Storage jars, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. From left to right: H. 9 1/2" (1 gallon), 11 1/2" (1 1/2 gallon), 12 1/2" (2 gallons), 13 3/4" (3 gallons), and 15" (4 gallons). (Private collection.) The squiggly cobalt mark found beneath the capacity mark in each of the vessels of this graduated series could represent a J or an S; hence, the potter’s signature is left to interpretation.

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Storage jar, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) A brushed cobalt date (“1837”) appears on the side of this vessel; on the reverse, a characteristic capacity mark (“3”) is underscored with a horizontal line and possibly a J, with blue highlights at the terminations of both extruded crescent-shaped handles and rounded rim. The date might refer to Schermerhorn’s last year of potting in Richmond. This piece was pictured in H. E. Comstock, Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, 1994), p. 317, fig. 6.3, where it was incorrectly attributed to Rockbridge.

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Storage jars, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 11 7/8" (2 gallons); 14" (3 gallons). (Private collection.) These two important stoneware jars show the heretofore undocumented association of the horizontally oriented brushed-cobalt floral spray with undulating vines interspersed with opposing or alternating floral blossoms with the brushed blue cobalt capacity designations underscored with horizontal lines and a squiggle suggestive of (depending on the crock) either a J or an S like the one on the reverse of the incised self-portrait crock.

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Jug, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 16". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Jug, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 17 1/2". Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Pitcher, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/8". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Pitcher, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 10 3/4". Capacity: 1 gallon. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39

    Flask, Schermerhorn Pottery, Richmond, Virginia, 1817–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 7 1/2". (Private collection.) This rather diminutive flask, with flattened sides decorated with brushed-cobalt floral vines separating opposing blossoms, has a distinctive incised ring on the lip and a concave bottom, resembling that of handmade glass bottles of the period.

  • Figure 40
    Figure 40

    Detail of the neck of the flask illustrated in fig. 39.

  • Figure 41
    Figure 41

    Detail of the concave bottom of the flask illustrated in fig. 39.

  • Figure 42
    Figure 42

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.) This robust jar, with its diminutive, slightly rolled rim and concave neck, has on its front three incised concentric ridges at the shoulder, slightly curved earlike handles with cobalt at the ends, and brushed-cobalt loops (swags) and tassels along the shoulder. On the reverse are two simple tassels of four paired leaves. The rim resembles wares produced in Rockbridge County; the handles, however, resemble some Morgan-Wilson-related vessels from Staunton, Virginia.

  • Figure 43
    Figure 43

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) This recently discovered vessel has the attributes of form and decoration that define Group 3. The important incised inscription on its base—“Richmond”—defines the area of manufacture.

  • Figure 44
    Figure 44

    Detail of the inscription on the base of the jar illustrated in fig. 43.

  • Figure 45
    Figure 45

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 11 1/4". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Kurt C. Russ.) The bold, incised ridges at its shoulder, the slightly curved earlike handles with blue only at the terminals, and the impressed capacity stamp (“2”) encircled with teeth and incorporated into a blossom that extends upward from four opposing single-stroke brushed leaves resemble decorations on vessels illustrated in figs. 42 and 43.

  • Figure 46
    Figure 46

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 9". Capacity: approx. 1 gallon. (Private collection; photo, Kurt C. Russ.) On the concave of the reverse side of this storage jar are two or three deeply incised concentric lines intersecting with slightly curved, flaring earlike handles with blue at each end.

  • Figure 47
    Figure 47

    Pitcher, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/4". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) The capacity stamp of this oversize pitcher is incorporated into a blossom with blue horizontal lines at the spout. The decoration as well as the stamp style are very similar to those on the storage jar illustrated in fig. 58.

  • Figure 48
    Figure 48

    Detail of the capacity stamp on the pitcher illustrated in fig. 47.

  • Figure 49
    Figure 49

    Pitcher, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.)

  • Figure 50
    Figure 50

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12 1/4". Capacity: 1 1/2 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Kurt C. Russ.) The decoration on this jug features a simple brushed-cobalt circular wreath accented with four outwardly projecting tassels. Within the wreath is a brushed capacity mark (“1 1/2).

  • Figure 51
    Figure 51

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 9 1/2". Capacity: approx. 1/2 gallon. (Private collection.) This jug was attributed to Rockbridge County in H. E. Comstock, Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, 1994), p. 457, fig. 7.7. Its form is virtually identical to the jug illustrated in fig. 50, whereas its decoration is similar to that on the jar illustrated in fig. 64.

  • Figure 52
    Figure 52

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.) The tassels decorating this jug are similar to those on the reverse of the jar illustrated in fig. 43.

  • Figure 53
    Figure 53

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817-1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/4". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Kurt C. Russ.) The cobalt wreath motif encloses the capacity mark (“2”) of this ovoid jug.

  • Figure 54
    Figure 54

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Carole Wahler.) This ovoid jug is decorated with a primitive brushed-cobalt rabbit with upright ears.

  • Figure 55
    Figure 55

    Jug, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection; photo, Ralph Arthur.) Mirroring the form of the jug illustrated in fig. 54, this piece features a primitive brushed-cobalt owl; it is also pictured in Kurt C. Russ, “Exploring Western Virginia Potteries,” Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts 21, no. 2 (1996): 115, fig. 10.

  • Figure 56
    Figure 56

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12 1/2". Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.) The floral decoration relates to that on the jar illustrated in fig. 43. The stamped capacity mark (“2”) is identical to that illustrated in fig. 45 but without the encircling teeth.

  • Figure 57
    Figure 57

    Detail of the capacity stamp of the jar illustrated in fig. 56.

  • Figure 58
    Figure 58

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) The form of this stoneware jar is typical of Schermerhorn—thick walls and a rounded rim, like those within the first group, embellished with the rather customary floral device (leafy vine with bloom)—yet on its reverse the brushed-cobalt wreathlike motif with tassels enclosing the capacity mark (“3”) is a decoration that specifically relates to the third group.

  • Figure 59
    Figure 59

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12 1/2". Mark: stamped “2” in dotted circle placed in center of brushed blue cobalt floral bloom. Capacity: 2 gallons. (Private collection.) The rolled applied handles of this jar are identical to those on the jar illustrated in fig. 56. The capacity mark is identical to those on the vessels illustrated in figs. 43, 45, and 47, suggesting that they are all from the same pottery.

  • Figure 60
    Figure 60

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 16 1/4". Mark: incised “4.” Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.) This stoneware jar is very similar in form and decoration to the jar illustrated in fig. 59; its handles, however, are flattened, slightly curved with blunt ends, as those on the jar illustrated in fig. 45.

  • Figure 61
    Figure 61

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12". (Private collection.) The simple brushed-cobalt flower decoration—two opposing leaves supporting a stem with a circular open bloom—is similar to that on the jug illustrated in fig. 52. 

  • Figure 62
    Figure 62

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14". Mark: stamped “3” within a circular toothlike border. Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) Found in central Virginia, this ovoid stoneware jar has an elongated neck (1"+) resembling DuVal wares, a flat rim, three concentric incised lines at the collar, and slightly curved earlike handles with blunt ends resembling those from both Richmond and Rockbridge County.

  • Figure 63
    Figure 63

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/2". Capacity: approx. 4 gallons. (Private collection.) This vessel has a diminutive squared-off rim above a pronounced 3/4-inch collar similar to that illustrated in fig. 64. The cobalt swag-and-tassel decoration on the front resembles the decoration on the jar illustrated in fig. 42. On the reverse is a single floral motif with a “lollipop” bloom. 

  • Figure 64
    Figure 64

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/2". Capacity: 4 gallons. (Private collection.) The jar illustrated here has a diminutive squared-off rim above a pronounced 3/4-inch straight collar, impressed coggle wheel impressions at the shoulder, and slightly curved, flattened earlike handles with blunt ends accented with blue cobalt. The front is decorated with a simple multi-leaf floral motif, and on the reverse is a tassel.

  • Figure 65
    Figure 65

    Detail of the handle and the impressed decoration of the jar illustrated in fig. 64.

  • Figure 66
    Figure 66

    Storage jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Samuel Wilson, and/or associates, Richmond or Henrico County, Virginia, 1817–1850. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 13 3/4". Capacity: 3 gallons. (Private collection.) This vessel form is very similar to the piece illustrated in fig. 62.

  • Figure 67
    Figure 67

    Jar, attributed to John P. Schermerhorn, Richmond, Virginia, 1811–1837. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 11 3/4". Mark on base: stamped “.J.P:S:” (Private collection.)

  • Figure 68
    Figure 68

    Detail of the initials stamped on the base of the jar illustrated in fig. 67.

  • Figure 69
    Figure 69

    Photocopy of John P. Schermerhorn’s signature, taken from the 1820 Census of Manufacturers, Henrico County, Virginia.