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Pennsylvania Ceramics

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Earthenware Plate

This slipware decorated Pennsylvania German plate probably dates from the early 19th century. It has three sgraffito tulips incised into a white ground. Catalog Number 379,506; Negative Number 74-10433

Salt-glazed Stoneware Jar

This jar was made in the second half of the 19th century, and has an elaborate cobalt decoration of a woman with an umbrella beside a tree. Catalog Number 1978.64.1; Negative Number 77-13227


Information or research assistance regarding Pennsylvania ceramics is frequently requested from the Smithsonian Institution. The following selected bibliography has been prepared to assist those interested in this topic.

Abraham, Evelyn. "The Pottery of Greensboro and New Geneva?' The Antiquarian 17 (September 1931): 25-29.

Baker, Gordon C. "Robert T. Williams, New Geneva, Pennsylvania Potter." Spinning Wheel 34 (April 1978): 12-14.

_____. "Checklist of Potteries and Pottery Owners in New Geneva, Pennsylvania.." Spinning Wheel 34 (June 1978): 29-31.

_____. "Checklist of Potteries and Pottery Owners in Greensboro, Pennsylvania." Spinning Wheel 34 (November 1978): 12-14.

_____. "The Hamilton Family Potters of Greensboro, Pennsylvania." Spinning Wheel 35 (January/February 1979): 42-44.

Barber, Edwin Atlee. Tulip Ware of the Pennsylvania-German Potters. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: The Pennsylvania Museum & School of Industrial Art, 1926. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, 1970.

Barnes, Benjamin H. The Moravian Pottery, Memories of Forty-Six Years. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1970.

Barol, Bill. ATucker Porcelain.@ American Heritage 40 (May/June 1989): 28-9.

Breininger, Lester P., Jr. Potters of the Tulpehocken. Myerstown, PA: Ron's Printing Service, 1979.

Curtis, Phillip H. "The Production of Tucker Porcelain, 1826-1838: A Reevaluation." In Ceramics in America, ed. Ian M. G. Quimby. Winterthur Conference Report, 1972. Charlottesville, VA: The University Press of Virginia, 1973.

Fox, Claire Gilbride. "Henry Chapman Mercer: Tilemaker, Collector, and Builder Extraordinary." Antiques 105 (October 1973): 678-685.

Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney. ATucker porcelain, Philadelphia, 1826-1838.@ The Magazine Antiques 135 (Apr. 1989): 918-29.

Grindberg, Susan E. Collector's Guide to Porcelier China. Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1996.

Henzke, Lucile. Pennsbury Pottery. West Chester, PA: Schiffer Pub., 1990.

Hood, Graham. Bonnin and Morris of Philadelphia: The First American Porcelain Factory, 1770-1772. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1972.

Jackson, Donald Dale. AHenry Mercer makes more sense as time goes on.@ Smithsonian 19 (Oct. 1988): 110-16.

James, Arthur E. The Potters and Potteries of Chester County, Pennsylvania. PA: Chester County Historical Society, 1945. Reprint. Exton, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1978.

Knittle, Rhea Mansfield. "Henry McQuate, Pennsylvania Potter." Antiques 8 (November 1925): 286-287.

Lasansky, Jeannette. APennsylvania Pottery in Berks County Collections.@ The Magazine Antiques 138 (Oct. 1990): 810-19.

_____. ABerks County Redware Pottery, 1767-1909.@ The Magazine Antiques 137 (Jan. 1990): 324-39.

_____. Central Pennylvania Redware Pottery 1780-1904. Lewisburg, PA: Union County Oral Traditions Projects, 1979.

_____. Made of Mud: Stoneware Potteries in Central Pennsylvania, 1834-1929. Lewisburg, PA: Union County Bicentennial Commission, 1977.

Michael, George. APennsbury Pottery.@ Antiques & Collecting Hobbies 95 (Apr. 1990): 67.

Michael, Ronald L. "Stoneware from Fayette, Greene, and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania.." Northeast Historical Archaeology 6, nos. 1 & 2 (Spring 1977).

Michael, Ronald L., and Phil R. Jack. "The Stoneware Potteries of New Geneva and Greensboro, Pennsylvania." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 51, no. 4 (October 1973): 365-382.

Myers, Susan H. Handcraft to Industry: Philadelphia Ceramics in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, Government Printing Office, 1980.

Pfaltzgraff : America's Potter. York, PA: Historical Society of York County, 1989.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. Tucker China, 1825-1838. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1957. Exhibit Catalogue.

Powell, Elizabeth A. Pennsylvania Pottery, Tools and Processes. Doylestown, PA: The Bucks County Historical Society, 1972.

Reed, Cleota. Henry Chapman Mercer and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.

Schaltenbrand, Phil. Stoneware of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996.

_____. Old Pots, Salt-Glazed Stoneware of the Greensboro-New Geneva Region. Hanover, PA: Everybody's Press, 1977.

_____. "The Stoneware Pottery of Isaac Hewitt, Jr." Spinning Wheel 33 (October 1977): 8-13.

Weygandt, Cornelius, "A Maker of Pennsylvania Redware (Jacob Medinger)." Antiques 48 (June 1946): 372-373.

 

Prepared by the Collections of Ceramics and Glass,
Division of Home and Community Life, in cooperation with Public Inquiry Services,
Smithsonian Institution

PIMS/AH82-8/8-83F
Revised 6/00

 


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