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Stoneware Pottery in Canada

In the 19th century, there were many potteries sprinkled across Canada. Most were relatively small family firms with limited production serving local markets. The pottery produced was typically earthenware made from local clay sources. Today, this is commonly called redware as the unglazed pottery was usually a terracotta colour when fired.   

Pottery production in Canada began to change fundamentally in the 1840s. Larger scale potteries were established along waterways and rail lines. The clay used was chiefly imported from New Jersey. This clay was of better quality and resulted in a more durable product called stoneware. The stoneware clay was expensive to import. Larger firms meant more labour and wages to pay. These were businesses that required a considerable capital investment. Many were opened by established potting families from the United States.  Stoneware was often decorated with a blue oxide. Popular images included flowers, birds and abstract designs.

We are developing this site to encourage an interest in early Canadian pottery and to provide a forum for information sharing. By posting information on various potters and by showing examples of their ware, we hope to help collectors determine the possible, even probable, manufacturer of their merchant-marked stoneware pieces. And indeed, if you have a piece of merchant-marked stoneware, please feel free to email us images and descriptions and we’ll see if we can help trace the provenance.

While there were many potteries operating in Canada between 1850-1900, several major potting centres quickly developed. It is our assertion that these centres were responsible for the vast majority of the stoneware produced in the country. This is evidenced by the number of pieces which have survived to this day. We will begin by listing the largest of these centres and providing some basic information about their operations. Over time, we will post representative examples of their wares.

Many of the largest potting centres were located in Ontario. These include:


                  Brantford Potteries
                  Toronto Potteries
                  Belleville Potteries
                  Picton Potteries
                  Cornwall Potteries                 
                  Paris
                  Peterborough
                  London
                  Tillsonburg

The St. John’s (now Saint Jean) area of Quebec was also a major centre of nineteenth century potting.

At a later period, the Medalta Potteries in Alberta became major producers.

 

Tier 1 - The Largest Operations

 

These six potting centers were probably responsible for 80% of all the stoneware produced for use in Canada. These firms had large distribution networks that saw their products travel far from the site of the pottery.  Potting firms often changed hands many times. The chronologies below illustrate this trend and will help you date your finds.

Brantford Potteries

 

http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/Auction23/Large/50%20Jaffray%20Ryan%20Toronto.JPG

Welding 5 Gallon Flower Jug
This massive 5 gallon jug has a terrific Welding flower design that covers the front of the vessel. It is marked for the firm of Jaffray and Ryan, wholesale merchants and importers of wines and liquors, who were located at 57 Front Street East in Toronto.
(Auction 23, Lot 50, sold for $550 plus buyer’s premium)

 

Toronto Potteries

 

http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/Auction23/Large/41%20Warner%20Toronto%20CW.JPG

Warner & Company Toronto CW 5 Gallon Butter Crock
Warner was unquestionably one of the most artistically talented of the early Canadian potters. His design work is excellent! This large butter crock shows a fabulous example of his flower work. See David Newland’s Early Ontario Potters (Pg. 71) for a similar but not as nice example. Warner was one of Toronto's first potters - operating from 1856-63. A truly exceptional and beautiful example of a very early Toronto piece.
(Auction 23, Lot 41, sold for $550 plus buyer’s premium)

http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/Auction23/Large/46%20Dunspaugh%20&%20Watson%20Toronto%20Eberhardt.JPG

Eberhardt Sunflower 4 Gallon Crock
This is a terrific early piece of Toronto merchant stoneware, marked for Dunspaugh & Watson, Toronto merchants. This merchant mark is a rare one. The sunflower is a gorgeous design attributed to Nicholas Eberhardt who potted in Toronto under his own name from 1865-79.
(Auction 23, Lot 46, selling price $750 plus buyer’s premium)

 

Picton Potteries

 

http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/Auction23/Large/39%20Fisk%20&%20Williams%20Skinner%20Tree.JPG

Skinner Tree 1 Gallon Crock
This little crock has everything going for it. First - it is a nice small size at one gallon. The design covers the entire face. And what a design! See David Newland’s Early Ontario Potters (Pg. 39). Skinner trees (Picton, Canada West era) are highly collectible and this one is fabulous on a small rare form. Early example circa. 1855-1864 from merchants Fisk & Williams, who were “General Dealers” (general merchants) located in the small village of Iroquois, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence Seaway east of Kingston.
(Auction 23, Lot 39 – selling price $1,300 plus buyer’s premium).

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Skinner Molasses Jug
This is a terrific half gallon Skinner-made molasses jug from Fisk & Williams, General Dealers in Iroquois CW. The mouth is greatly exaggerated and looks especially so on such a small piece. This crock was made in Picton CW.
(Auction 23, lot 70 – selling price $650 plus buyer’s premium)

 

 

Cornwall Potteries

 

Belleville Potteries

 

http://www.mapleleafauctions.com/Auction23/Large/68%20EL%20Farrar%20St.John%20CE.JPG

EL Farrar St. Johns CE 2 Gallon Butter Crock
Excellent example of an earlier Farrar mark, circa. 1857.
(Auction 23, Lot 68, sold for $230 plus buyer’s premium)

 

 

Tier 2 - Mid Scale Operations

 

These were stoneware producers that had a strong regional market share. At times, their distribution may have extended beyond the locality.

Paris Potteries

 

Peterborough

 

London

 

Tillsonburg

 

Brockville

 

Atlantic Canada

While pottery was produced in Atlantic Canada, the operations never reached the scale of the producers in Tiers 1 and 2. This was the effect of market saturation from foreign imports and domestic products flowing from the main centers in Quebec and Ontario. A lot of East Coast pottery was supplied by British manufacturers. East Coast pottery manufactured in North America was typically made in St. Johns Quebec - though some Ontario producers like Flack & Van Arsdale made crocks for Atlantic Canadian merchants. The most notable producers in New Brunswick were the Foley Potteries. In Prince Edward Island, there was a wonderful redware product manufactured by the aptly-named PEI Pottery Co.

The West

The relatively late settlement of the Western provinces resulted in there being very little 19th century pottery and little local production of any scale until the Medalta Potteries. Western merchants were typically supplied by the largest Ontario pottery operations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. George Chopping's is a good reference for Western stoneware and clearly shows that the majority of the pieces were produced in the first couple of decades of the 20th century.