A Rare Albany Slip-Glazed Stoneware Harvest Jug Identified to Elizabeth Beck Harpster

Possibly Samuel Routson, Wooster, Ohio, 19th Century

incised Elizabeth Harpster / Flat Rock / Seneca Co. / O.
Height 6 inches.

Elizabeth Beck was born on September 25, 1829, in Center County, Pennsylvania, one of at least nine children of Daniel (1799-1863) and Juliana Margaretha Crouse Beck (1795-1875). The Beck family moved to Seneca County, Ohio before 1840, and Daniel and one of his sons are both listed as carpenters in the U.S. Federal Census of 1850. On June 16, 1850, Elizabeth married Lewis Harpster (1827-1902), a laborer and farmer who had relocated to Flat Rock from Wayne County at some point between 1830 and 1840. The couple had several children together, including son Franklin, an oil dealer in Tiffin, Ohio, with whom Elizabeth lived following the death of her husband.

The pottery of Samuel Routson in Wooster, Ohio, the county seat of Wayne County, was the closest to Flat Rock, where the Harpsters lived and farmed. His pottery was active concurrently in the 1850s and 1860s, and his wares are often marked by the same Albany slip glaze utilized on this rare vessel, the only known example of a Harvest jug identified to a woman.

Property from the Robert and Nancy Treichler Collection of Ohio Stoneware and Americana, Tallmadge, Ohio

In overall fine and stable condition. Dust present to recessed areas, with minor abrasions throughout body, not detrimental to incised text. Wear and minor surface irregularities to foot. Cracks at spout and handle, likely drying cracks within the heavily applied slip glaze.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Ben Fisher

Managing Director, Furniture and Decorative Arts

[email protected]312.447.3270

Mr. Fisher rejoined the firm in 2019 after working as a specialist in the American Furniture and Folk Art department at Sotheby’s New York. His areas of expertise include 18th, 19th, and 20th century American, Continental, and English furniture, decorative and folk art. Before coming to Hindman in 2013, Mr. Fisher worked in European Furniture and Decorative Arts in Philadelphia. He began his career working for a prints dealer focusing on works from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

Leah Vogelpohl

AVP, Specialist, American Furniture, Folk, and Decorative Arts

[email protected]513.666.4960

Ms. Vogelpohl joined the firm in 2013 as a cataloger in the American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts department. She became a department specialist in 2017, focusing on American decorative arts and silver. She received a BA from the College of Charleston and an MLITT in Art History from the University of Glasgow.

American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts

A Rare Albany Slip-Glazed Stoneware Harvest Jug Identified to Elizabeth Beck Harpster

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