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December 2009 Vol 10, Issue 4

Newsletter of the of Trenton Society James Sheldon, Belleek Master in Trenton By Ulysses Grant Dietz Senior Curator, Newark

n 1911, Walter Scott Lenox gave “31 . I pieces of Belleek & bone ”1 to Included in this display were the fledgling Newark Museum. These two pieces that were hardly modern pieces had all been part of the year-old looking, but exemplified the virtuoso museum’s 1910 inaugural exhibition of craftsmanship of Mr. Lenox’s potters. art simply titled “Modern A bowl-like basket and a tazza-like American Pottery.” piece on legs were both formed from Mr. Lenox lent his works to spaghetti-thin strands of ivory colored Newark in 1910 to be displayed along- belleek , their rims encrusted side the products of other well-known with pastel-colored blossoms crafted art potteries of the day such as Grueby, from finger-nail like petals of the thin- Marblehead, Paul Revere, Newcomb nest porcelain. Of all the loaned ob- and Van Briggle. The only other New jects, these alone were attributed to a Contents Jersey in this exhibition were specific craftsman by Mr. Lenox: Mr. a series of Chinese-form by New- James Sheldon. No other information James Sheldon, Belleek Master in Trenton ark’s Clifton . While it was provided, but the name was care- Ulysses Grant Dietz ...... 1 seems odd from a twenty-first-century fully noted on the Museum’s acces- perspective that Lenox China was seen sion cards after the were and Decorators of as art pottery, it was perfectly logical to donated in 1911 (Figures 1 and 2). The Trenton Pottery Industry...... 4 both Mr. Lenox and John Cotton Dana, According to a ledger in the the visionary founder of the Newark Lenox Archives, the mysterious Mr. 2011 Trenton . Mr. Dana that it was in Sheldon seems to have produced Symposium ...... 5 the decorative that one found true Winterthur Conference...... 6 art in the modern Ironstone Convention .. 6 world. He made little value distinction be- Seminar ...... 7 tween factory made

products that were The Potteries of Trenton Society is a well designed and non-profit organization dedicated to the hand-crafted pieces. study and preservation of Trenton’s past. Officers: President— The thought of Lenox Patricia Madrigal; Treasurer—Jay dinner plates being Lewis; Secretary—Brenda Springsted. Board: Ellen Denker, Richard Hunter, displayed near hand- Meta Janowitz, Jay Lewis, Emma Lewis, painted Marblehead William Liebeknecht, George Miller, vases raised no anxi- Brenda Springsted, Rebecca White. Newsletter Editor: Patricia Madrigal ety. Art was art was

Figure 1, Sheldon woven (Continued on page 2) basket. Page 2 Vol 10, Issue 4 James Sheldon, Belleek Master in Trenton

(Continued from page 1) wares subsequently at Willets Manu- thirty-five different examples of this bel- facturing Company in Trenton and at leek-type “woven” porcelain, numbered his own Company from sequentially from 1145-1179. All but 1889 onward.3 But who was Mr. Shel- one of these entries is accompanied in don? the ledger by a cyanotype photograph, In November 2010 Lisa Wieger sometimes including both an overhead of Los Vegas, Nevada, contacted me view as well as a profile. The pieces that and reported that she was a great- ended up in the Museum were granddaughter of James Sheldon 1147 and 1167. Only one entry, number through his daughter Catherine—and 1179, is not illustrated, but it is listed as did we have any of her ancestor’s a “basket” and thus is likely part of the work in our Lenox holdings? Imagine Sheldon series.2 None of these delicate Ms. Wieger’s joy at finding out that belleek-type basket wares were appar- her great-grandfather’s name was ently marked, and to date only two known to me; and my own at finally other examples from this series are knowing more about this elusive mas- known: two saucer-sized pure white flat ter porcelain —a man who had dishes, which remained in the Lenox been important enough to Walter Archives and were given to the New Lenox to be immortalized (however Jersey State Museum in 2006. vaguely) a century ago. Until 2010, nothing at all was James Sheldon, of Coalisland known of James Sheldon. It had been parish in the mining district of Tyrone Walter Lenox who first brought mem- County, Northern Ireland, was bers of the Bromley family from the Bel- twenty-nine years old when he mar- leek factory in Ireland to Trenton for the ried the 19-year-old Sarah McGrath on firm of Ott & Brewer in the 1880s; and it May 25th, 1889.4 His occupation was Figure 2, Sheldon woven was Lenox who shepherded the devel- listed rather mysteriously as “flower basket. opment of ivory bodied belleek-type winding,” but this may be a mistran- scription of an older document. His father, John Sheldon, was listed as “potter” on the couple’s marriage cer- tificate. The elder Sheldon’s roots were in ’s Staffordshire pot- tery district, where James was born in 1860. According to the 1861 British Census, John, his wife Louisa and four children were living in Stoke Upon Trent. James was the baby, at one year old. Exactly how James came to move from Staffordshire, England to Tyrone, Ireland, remains a mystery, but it would be a good guess that he went for the work. James and Sarah’s first child, Catherine was born in Coalisland on (Continued on page 3) Vol 10, Issue 4 Page 3

James Sheldon, Belleek Master in Trenton

(Continued from page 2) Sarah died on February 4, 1939 and October 26, 1891, and her father was their graves are in St. Mary’s Cemetery by then recorded as a “worker in pot- in Trenton. They had twenty grand- tery.” The Sheldons would eventually children. Now, thanks to the curiosity have six children, several of whom of his great-grandaughter Lisa Wieger, must have been born in Trenton. The the ceramic history world has a much Sheldons emigrated from Ireland in better sense of who this porcelain artist 1893, sailing on the State of Nebraska was. from the port of Moville in June with their young family. For the rest of Notes: their lives, James and Sarah lived in

Trenton. 1Object files, Newark Museum, registrar’s It is likely that James went im- office. mediately to work for Walter Lenox upon his arrival in the . 2I have Ellen Paul Denker to thank for His obituary in the Trenton Evening showing me this ledger and making me a Times on May 10, 1933, said that Shel- copy of these pages in 2000 when she was don had come to Trenton forty-one the archivist for Lenox, Inc. The original years previously.5 The obituary fur- ledger is now in the Special Collections at the Rutgers University Library, New ther reported that he had been trained Brunswick, New Jersey. in Belleek Ireland, and was

“employed as a decorator for many 3See Ulysses Grant Dietz, Masterpieces of years by Lenox, Inc.” Coalisland is a Art Pottery, 1880-1930 (Newark: the New- long way from the famous porcelain ark Museum, 2009) p. 32. town of Belleek, although both are in Northern Ireland. It is hard to find a 4The wedding certificate lists his age as 25, moment in Sheldon’s life as a husband but other documents show he was born in and father when he would have had 1860. time to work in Belleek, on the oppo- 5 site side of Northern Ireland from Object files, the Newark Museum, thanks to Lisa Wieger. Coalisland. Although he could have left his young family in Coalisland to 6One of these is in the collection of the spend time in Belleek learning his Newark Museum, gift of Dr. Harold H. skills, it is just as possible that he Kelsey in Memory of Arthur V. Colletti, learned the belleek process from Irish 2002, accession number 2002.38.16. There workers already in place at the Ce- were two more Willets baskets in the Col- ramic Art Company when he arrived letti collection, one of which is in the collec- in Trenton. Similar belleek-type white tion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, porcelain baskets produced at the Wil- accession number 2005.316. lets factory in the late 1880s are well 7 known, and whoever made those at Based on Sheldon’s death certificate, a copy of which is in the Newark Museum Willets might have followed Walter object files. Lenox when he set up his own shop in 1889.6 James Sheldon died in 1933, having retired from Lenox in 1930.7 Page 4 Vol 10, Issue 4

Artists and Decorators of the Trenton Pottery Industry

ayor Tony F. Mack announced 1903, for example, large Lenox- M that the Trenton Museum Soci- decorated vases sold for $700 to $1400 ety and the Trenton City Museum at each. Factoring in for inflation, today's Ellarslie Mansion in Cadwalader Park price would be approximately are opening a new exhibit entitled Art- $30,000, an astounding amount to pay ists and Decorators of the Trenton Pottery for a decorative piece then as well as Industry on January 29, 2011. The ex- now. hibit will run through May 8, 2011. The hand-painted porcelains According to exhibit curator on display represent some of the best Robert Cunningham, the exhibit will pieces ever produced anywhere in the focus on "the best of the best" the deco- world. Creations from most of the rative work of the artists and artisans, known factory artists like Bruno known and anonymous, who worked Geyer, George and William Morley, in Trenton's premier pottery factories and Walter Marsh will be displayed as during the American Belleek period well as signed work from a few un- from 1882 until the 1920s. known artists. This is a chance to see The finest hand-painted porce- some of the world-class porcelain that lain in the United States was produced helped to make Trenton the top china in Trenton, New Jersey. The exquisitely production city in the United States. painted and modeled vases, pitchers and tea sets were hand-painted and gilded by top artists working in Tren- ton's ceramics industry. No two pieces Trenton City Museum were alike. Customers could order at Ellarslie Manison Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. delicate porcelain artware painted with Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Closed Mondays favorite scenes or family portraits. The and Municipal Holidays. Visit quality of the artist-decorated pieces www.ellarslie.org for more information created in Trenton during this early and directions or contact Museum Direc- period has never been exceeded by any tor Brian O. Hill at 609.989.3632 other American pottery and rivaled the top pieces produced in Europe. Ellarslie Mansion is owned, maintained Although the pieces on display and operated by the City of Trenton, will represent a number of Trenton Mayor's Office of Recreation and Cultural potteries, most will come from the pre- Affairs and is located in Cadwalader Park. This program is made possible in part by eminent firms of Ott and Brewer, Wil- the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage lets Manufacturing Company, and the Commission through funding from the Ceramic Art Company (which later Mercer County Board of Chosen Free- became Lenox). The Ceramic Art Com- holders, and the New Jersey State Council pany, unlike other potteries, was origi- on /Department of State, A Part- nally organized as an art studio. ner Agency of the National Endowment It is hard to imagine the work of the Arts. that went into creating these pieces or the cost of producing them. The work All programs and additional support are would be impossible to replicate today. provided by the TrentonMuseum Society 609-989-1191. Carried in the most exclusive shops, only the extremely wealthy could af- ford the unique, lustrous china. In Vol 10, Issue 4 Page 5

2011 Trenton Ceramics Symposium Explores the City’s Decorating Trade

his year’s Trenton ceramics sym- tion. A show–and-tell session will T posium will focus on the many follow at Ellarslie from 2 to 4 p.m. facets of Trenton’s ceramics decorat- Audience members can bring items ing industry. The day-long sympo- decorated in Trenton for experts to sium called Skin Deep: Trenton’s Deco- examine and discuss. Each partici- rating Trade will be held Saturday, pant will be limited to submitting one April 2, 2011, in the Auditorium of the item and no appraisals will be given. New Jersey State Museum and the The symposium, which is co- galleries of the Trenton City Museum sponsored by the New Jersey State at Ellarslie Mansion. When a ceramics Museum (www.state.nj.us/state/ industry grows as large as the one museum) and the Trenton City Mu- that existed in Trenton at the turn of seum, is being presented in conjunc- the twentieth century it becomes ex- tion with the Ellarslie exhibition Art- tremely complicated with many sub ists and Decorators of the Trenton Pottery Industry. The exhibition features the industries that feed into it and off of work of the artists and artisans, it. In Trenton these sub industries in- known and anonymous, who worked cluded merchants who dealt in raw in Trenton’s premier potteries from materials and specialized machinery 1882 into the 1920s. In addition, the as well as independent decorating museum’s permanent exhibition and workshops. The workshops provided study collection on Trenton’s pottery mass market decorations as well as industry includes mass market deco- custom on order to the pot- rating by Trenton’s many workshops teries or to retailers and middlemen in operating well into the twentieth cen- the retail business. tury. Award-winning historian and The symposium is open to the author Regina Lee Blaszczyk will pre- public. The registration fee is $35 if sent the keynote address paid by March 18. Members of the (www.imaginingconsumers.com). Potteries of Trenton Society, the She will explain how the workshops Friends of the New Jersey State Mu- supplied the potteries with decora- seum, and the Trenton Museum Soci- tions and decorators and highlight the ety may attend for $30, if paid in ad- work of selected decorating shops. vance. Everyone who pays at the Additional speakers for the day will door will be charged $40. Registration focus on the current exhibition at El- includes all lectures, lunch, and the larslie, Artists and Decorators of the show-and-tell session. A mail-in reg- Trenton Pottery Industry, which is on istration form may be downloaded view until May 8, 2011 and printed from POTS website: (www.ellarslie.org). www.potteriesoftrenton.org; or inter- The symposium will begin ested parties may contact POTS Presi- with registration and coffee at 10:00 dent Patricia Madrigal at 609-695-0122 a.m. The morning session will in- x 100 or president clude Blaszczyk’s keynote address @potteriesoftrentonsociety.org. and one or two shorter talks. Lunch will be served at Ellarslie, where par- ticipants can view the current exhibi- Page 6 Vol 10, Issue 4

Winterthur Ceramics Conference

his year’s Winterthur ceramics collections T conference, Exotic Tastes: Eastern Study opportunities and dis- Ceramics & Their Impact on the West, will cussions of your favorite ceramics be held April 7–8, 2011. The confer- with old and new friends. ence will follow paths that lead to the Far East and back while examining Selected speakers and workshop leaders: Chinese porcelain and other Asian Leslie B. Grigsby, Curator of wares, some of which found their way Ceramics and , Winterthur to the West. It also will delve into the Pat Halfpenny, Ceramics origins of exotic shapes and ornament Scholar, Wilmington, DE and how they fit into the “Modern” Suzanne Findlen Hood, Cura- tastes of 17th-through 19th-century tor of Ceramics and Glass, Colonial Europe and America. What will be dis- Williamsburg Foundation, Williams- covered as intact objects, documents burg, VA and archaeological evidence are exam- Rose Kerr, Honorary Research ined? Associate, Needham Research Inst., Cambridge & Honorary Senior Re- Plan to experience: search Fellow, University of Glasgow, Lectures, presenting new re- Scotland. search by Winterthur staff and re- spected visiting scholars For registration information please Workshops, with opportunities visit: www.winterthur.org/pdfs/ to get close-up access to Winterthur CC2011-online-brochure.pdf

White 17th Annual Convention

he White Ironstone China Asso- during two social hours are included T ciation is holding their 17th an- in the $95 per person registration fee. nual convention from April 29 to May Members will also have an opportu- 1 at the Holiday Inn Conference Cen- nity to participate in the annual WICA ter, York, Pennsylvania. Events in- Raffle, a silent auction, and to pur- clude four educational programs, a chase items from the WICA Shoppe. china display, and three opportunities Must be a member of the White Iron- to purchase white ironstone—a live stone China Association to attend. auction, a combined flea market and For more membership and registra- tops and bottoms sale, and a show and tion information, visit sale. Three meals and hors d’oeuvres www.whiteironstonechina.com. Vol 10, Issue 4 Page 7

Wedgwood Seminar Celebrates the Arts of the Potter

edgwood enthusiasts and Mistresses: Wedgwood’s Dairy Ware’, W scholars will convene in Chi- presented by Dr. Anne Forschler- cago for the 56th Annual Wedgwood Tarrasch, curator of for International Seminar (WIS). The lec- the Museum of Art. tures and related activities will speak In addition, seminar attendees to this year’s conference focus, will enjoy a private viewing of the “Celebrating The Arts Of The Potter”. Wedgwood reserves at the Art Insti- The event takes place from April 27th tute of Chicago, a trip to the Crab Tree to May 1st at the Avenue Crowne Farm - an estate housing fine furnish- Plaza Hotel Chicago, its host venue. ings and decorative arts, and visits to Among the lectures and speak- private home collections. Attendees ers are: ‘The Homeric : Wedgwood’s will also have the convenience of pur- Other Famous Vase’, presented by chasing Wedgwood wares from mem- Peggy Kerner, researcher and collec- ber dealers and the pleasure of meet- tor; ‘Wedgwood Redux: The Science of ing new ceramics enthusiasts and re- Restoration’, demonstrated by ceram- uniting with old fellow collectors. ics conservators, Margaret and James The lectures, receptions, ban- Burnham; ‘A Greek Form Reinterpreted: quets, lunches, and tours are all inclu- The Volute Crater in 19th Century Euro- sive under the modest registration fee. pean Ceramics’, by anthropologist and And the special hotel rate includes a Ithaca College professor emeriti, Dr. continental breakfast. To obtain more Nancy Ramage; ‘ and information on the seminar, registra- the Gods: Use in Wedgwood Ornamenta- tion and the hotel, and to make your tion’, from Jeffrey Milkins, collector reservations, visit the web site at: and lecturer; ‘Very Fine Ware For Very www.wedgwoodinternationalseminar Fine Folk’, delivered by Dr. Monnie .org or contact the director of semi- Kanter, Wedgwood specialist; ‘Two nars by email at: wismem- Jewish Families of the 19th Century Col- [email protected]. lect Wedgwood’, by Harwood Johnson, The WIS organization, which ceramics editor; and ‘Milkmaids and first gathered in Philadelphia in 1956, has held its annual seminars in major cities in the USA, Canada, the UK, and elsewhere. These conferences of- fer the opportunity for Wedgwood enthusiasts the world over to gain ex- panded insight into the related topics, visit private and public collections, and network in an informal forum. In addition, WIS members (whether in attendance or not) receive a bound copy of the Proceedings. Annual membership fee is $35 per individual and $50 per family (+ $10 for outside USA). And PayPal payments are now accepted for both membership and seminar fees.

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