Very Rare WELLSBURGH, West Virginia Three-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher, circa 1820
Winter 2025 Auction of the Carole Wahler Collection
Lot #: 224
Estimate: $800-$1,200.A Note About Estimates
Minimum Bid: $200.
Very Rare Three-Gallon Stoneware Pitcher, Stamped "WELLSBURGH," Horatio N. Bakewell, Wellsburg, VA (now WV), circa 1820, ovoid pitcher with footed base and heavily-tooled banding to shoulder and collar. Impressed below spout with the maker's mark, "WELLSBURGH." beside a three-gallon capacity mark. Two bands of old blue paint to collar. This pitcher was made at the stoneware manufactory operated by Horatio N. Bakewell in Wellsburg (formerly Charleston), Virginia, from 1816-1852. Originally founded around 1806 by Samuel R. Bakewell, Horatio's father, this pottery was one of the earliest producers of stoneware in the American South. A native of Staffordshire, England, S. R. Bakewell found stiff competition as a potter, ultimately relocating to Wellsburg (then called Charleston) on the Ohio River north of Wheeling. He was a pioneer stoneware potter and even briefly attempted the production of American Delft Ware. Mounting debt forced S. R. Bakewell to leave his family, and his stoneware manufactory, in the hands of his eighteen-year-old son, Horatio, who successfully managed the operation for decades. This rare marked example, the only piece with this maker's stamp we have ever handled, probably dates to shortly after the town was named Wellsburgh in 1817. Desirable size and form, featuring a rarely-seen, early Virginia maker's mark. Provenance: Purchased by Wahler at Crocker Farm, Inc., August 21, 2020, lot 212. A 2 7/8" vertical hairline to collar on pitcher's right side. A few rim chips. Tight hairlines on underside, one of which extends as an X-shaped hairline 8 3/4" up right side of pitcher and another, which extends 2 3/4" up base on front. Some very minor nicks to bottom edge. H 15".
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