Lorraine German
Eighteenth-Century Boston Stoneware: Appealing to a Local Market

Ceramics in America 2019

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Detail of the stamp from  the jar/jug illustrated in figure 11 used by William Little, Jonathan Fenton, and Frederick Carpenter, Boston, ca. 1793–1798.

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    From Clough’s Atlas 1798 Property Owners of the Town of Boston, pl. 1. (Courtesy, Massachusetts Historical Society.) This is the first of twelve plates from an uncompleted atlas of maps prepared by Samuel Chester Clough, available online at https://www.‌masshist.org/online/massmaps/clough-plt-overviewer.php [image 1]. Jonathan Fenton’s pottery is located on Lynn Street.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Advertisement for the opening of Jonathan Fenton’s stoneware manufactory, Columbian Centinal, August 14, 1793. 

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Jug, Westerwald, Germany, ca. 1740–1760. Salt-glazed stoneware. (Courtesy, The Reeves Collection, Washington and Lee University; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Jug, probably London, England, ca. 1740–1760. Salt-glazed stoneware. (Private collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Jar, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 12 7/8". (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Detail of the flower stamped on the jar illustrated in fig. 6.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Churn, William States Pottery, Stonington, Connecticut, ca. 1811. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 11". (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Detail of the flower stamped on the churn illustrated in fig. 8.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Jar, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. (Courtesy, Peter Schriber.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Jug, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 14 1/4". (Colonial Williamsburg; photo, Jason B. Copes.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Detail of the fish stamped on the jug illustrated in fig. 11.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Jug , Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 14". (Courtesy, Crocker Farm.) 

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Jar, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 14". (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Detail of the bird stamped on the jar illustrated in fig. 14.

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Jar, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 13 3/4". (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Detail of the Native American figure stamped on the jar illustrated in fig. 16.

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Jug, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 12 3/4".  (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Detail of the entwined initials “J. F.” stamped on the jug illustrated in fig. 18.

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Jug, Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 15 1/2".  (William H. Chapman Collection; photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Detail of the entwined initials “J. F.” stamped on the jug illustrated in fig. 20.

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Cooler, attributed to Jonathan Fenton, Boston, Massachusetts, 1793–1796. Salt‑glazed stoneware. H. 24 3/4". (Courtesy, Collection of Robert A. Ellison Jr.; photo, Robert A. Ellison Jr. Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Detail of the cartouche with the initials “R.H.W.” impressed on the cooler illustrated in fig. 23.