Redware in Western Massachusetts
Researcher Justin Thomas presents a talk detailing the history of New England Redware including discoveries based on new research, cohosted by the Bidwell House Museum. He will be joined by his colleague, historian Warren Broderick, who assisted in conducting research for Thomas’ upcoming book, A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires and Vermont.
Western Massachusetts has a rich history of red earthenware production dating to the 1700s, later followed by stoneware in the 1800s. The most successful type may have been the black glazed teapots produced in Whately, Massachusetts. However, red earthenware production seems to have been more widespread in the 1700s with some production that can be traced back to the Charlestown and South Danvers, Massachusetts areas before the American Revolution.
A significant portion of Western Massachusetts’s regional production is also linked to the manufacturing landscape of neighboring Vermont. While some of this regional connection was previously overlooked by historians, recent research has uncovered a bustling network of a few dozen or so red earthenware companies operating throughout Vermont during the late 1700s and 1800s. This newly documented data reshapes the understanding of early New England pottery exchange, revealing how deeply the artisans and economic markets of the two regions were intertwined in the 1800s.
FREE Event
Justin Thomas is a collector, researcher, and writer about American utilitarian pottery production from the seventeenth through the early twentieth century. He studied at archaeology departments, museums, and private collections across the country, publishing numerous research articles about American potteries in regional and national publications. He has been a contributor for the New England Antiques Journal, Maine Antiques Digest, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, Antiques & Auction News, and Untapped New York. He has also authored seven books, as part of his ongoing pottery book series, published by Historic Beverly in Massachusetts. Justin has worked with museums, historical societies, and archaeology departments all over the East Coast including the National Museum of American History, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the New York State Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, Historic New England, and Strawbery Banke, among many others. In 2021, he organized a special Redware conference hosted by Historic Beverly. He currently resides in Newburyport.
This event is sponsored by Massachusetts Cultural Council and Greylock Federal Credit Union.