Wisconsin Stoneware Bottles and Earthenware Bottles

Pieces / By

Pottery bottles were among the first bottles produced for Wisconsin soda and beer bottlers and merchants. The earliest were made in the 1840’s, and more began to appear in the 1850’s and 1860’s. The use of pottery bottles peaked in the 1870’s, and by the 1880’s they were falling out of favor. While some were still used in the 1890’s, by the turn of the century they had become obsolete. They were made of both earthenware and from stoneware.

Article: Wisconsin Pottery Bottles
Photo galley  It includes over 140 examples of Wisconsin pottery bottles on the Milwaukee Bottle Club web site.

If you have, or know of a Wisconsin pottery bottle not listed here, please contact me at pmaas@att.net with a description and photo if possible so we can update this web site.

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Portage – Conant Street Pottery 1861 – 1863

Potteries / By

In June 1860 Isaac Farrar left the Farrar & Russell partnership and nine months later was in full production at a new pottery he had started just a few blocks away on Conant Street that he called “I.N. Farrar & Co”. Their products were very similar to those made at the De Witt Street pottery. The “& Co” was probably Isaac’s father Moses. The pottery closed between June 1863 and February 1864 after two years of operation.

This article is an updated version of an article published in the French language magazine Ceramics in 2019.

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Portage – De Witt Street Pottery 1859 -1863

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The Dewitt Street Pottery was the first pottery factory opened in Portage by Farrar and Russell. Portage is a city located in central Wisconsin north west of Madison, the state capitol. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet made the two-mile portage at this location from the Fox River to the Wisconsin River in their quest to reach the Mississippi River.

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The Viking Brotherhood Cup

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Susan Frackelton presented an exhibit featuring twelve pieces of salt-glazed art pottery at the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition. Most of the pieces have applied embellishments and incising with cobalt highlights. A centerpiece of the exhibit was a large drinking vessel she named "The Viking Brotherhood Cup." A photo of the exhibit was published in an industry newpaper called the "Clay Worker" in an article about the exhibit by Susan’s husband Richard Frackelton.

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Berlin Potteries

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Berlin pottery is similar Whitewater pottery but there are clear differences. Berlin clay is much denser than Whitewater clay, resulting in pots that are about 50% heavier and more durable. Another obvious difference is that the Belin potters mostly used Roman Numeral capacity marks. The Berlin potteries’ decorations are also distinctive, including drooping oval-shaped leaves and a consistent flower shape.

There are two decoration styles. One has the capacity to the left of the flower marked in Roman Numerals with an odd “reverse C” beneath. The meaning or purpose of this mark is unknown. The base of the flower features a loop. The second style usually has an underlined Roman Numeral capacity but to the right of the flower and does not have a “reverse C” below the capacity. The flower base is a simple hook to the left with no loop. This suggests a different person decorated them, probably due to ownership change or pots from the Sherwood pottery.

Most potteries did not bother to decorate pieces smaller than two gallons, but Berlin decorated sizes down to one-quart capacity. It’s odd that Berlin sometimes marked half-gallon and quart jars with a 1.

 

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Following are photos of pots representative of the products made in Berlin.

This is the only Berlin churn and original cover we are aware of. Few earthenware churns survived the pounding they took. This one is marked with a digital capacity rather than the usual Roman Numeral. The glaze is tinted with manganese which obscures the flower.
Two-gallon Berlin food storage jar.
One-gallon Berlin food storage jar with a bright clear decoration.
One-gallon Berlin food storage jar.
One-gallon Berlin food storage jar with cover.
One-gallon Berlin food storage jar.
The capacity resembles a "1/2" but we don't know the actual capacity. If the owner of this jar sees this please let us know.
Berlin food storage jar of unknown size, possibly a quart.
Berlin food storage jar that appears to be a quart.
Quart Berlin food storage jar.
Two-gallon Berlin jug with capacity to the right of the double flower. Notice the flower base has an "X" style that differs from the standard base. The capacity is right of the flower.
Three-gallon Berlin jug. The "3" gallon capacity mark is unusual because most three-gallon Berlin pieces are marked with Roman Numerals.
Two-gallon handled Berlin jug with a yellow lead glaze and dark manganese decoration.
Two-gallon Berlin jug with a thin clear lead glaze resulting in a bright, clear decoration.
One-gallon Berlin cream pot with a square rim and capacity to the left of the flower.
Half-gallon Berlin cream pot with a thin round rim and no handles.
One-gallon Berlin cream pot with a square rim.
One-gallon Berlin cream pot with a square rim and capacity to the left of the flower.
Two-gallon Berlin bean pot with a darker lead glaze and capacity to the left of the flower.
Half-gallon Berlin bean pot with round rim an attractive lead glaze and manganese decoration.
Four-gallon Berlin butter pot with ear handles and square rim. THe "4" is centered above a double flower.
Five-gallon Berlin butter pot with a square rim and ear handles. The "%" is centered over a double flower.
Three-gallon Berlin butter pot with ear handles and a square, collared rim.
Three-gallon Berlin butter pot with tall square rim. The flower has some differences from the standard flower - more petals on the flower and the well rendereed leaves on the laft side of the stem.
Four-gallon Berlin butter pot with a square rim and ear handles. Larger pieces tend to have double flowers and cantered capacity marks.
Five-gallon Berlin butter pot with square rim and ear handles. The capacity is a poorly rendered 5 digit instead of a Roman Numeral and some extra marks for some reason.
Quart Berlin food storage jar of unknown size and capacity to the left of the flower. It has and unusually dark, orange lead glaze.
One-gallon Berlin cream pot with a darker glaze and capcity to the right of the flower.
Two-gallon Berlin jug with capcity right of the flower.
Two-gallon Berlin jug with a darker lead glaze and capacity right of a simple flower.
Two-gallon Berlin earthenware bean pot with a square rim and capacity to the right of the flower underlines twice with no reverse "c".
One-gallon Berlin cream pot with square hrim and ear handles. The capacity is left of the flower. THe flower does not have the loop base.
Two-gallon Berlin earthenware jug with roman Numeral capacity and "rooster tail" decoration. Note the absence of a mark below the line under the capacity.
Two-gallon handled Berlin jug with a decoration thats hard to describe with the capacity centered.
We attribute this to berlin but can't be sure. Similarities with Berlin: -The form, lip and handle are similar to other Berlin jugs. -The rooster tail element appears on other known Berlin pieces. -The weight is about the same as other Berlin jugs which is about 50% heavier than Whitewater jugs. -The glaze is similar to some other Berlin pieces. Differences with Berlin: The bottom has lines from being removed from table with twisted wire. No other Berlin piece that we know of has these lines. The decoration and especially the “2” is different from other Berlin decorations – except for the rooster tail part of the flower.
The decoration and form of this salt-glazed pot is typical of Bachelder, but the capacity mark is not. It shows the infuence if not the hand of Charles Tolman.
One-gallon salt-glazed Bachelder food storage jar with some elements that resemble the Berlin flowers.
The decoration strongly resembles Berlin decorations. It was probably decorated by Charles Tolman during his short stint working for Bachelder before moving to Berlin to work with his father Henry in Berlin .
One-gallon salt-glazed Bachelder cream pot with ear handles. The capacity and flowers show the influence of the Berlin decorative style.
The form of this one-gallon salt-glazed pot is typical of Bachelder's small butter pots but the decoration and capacity resemble Berlin.

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