On the site where the Tannery Yard condominiums stand today, the influential Wilkes Street Pottery operated from 1813-1877.
The relationship between the Wilkes Street Pottery, famous for manufacturing Alexandria stoneware, and Hugh Smith & Company, a King Street retailer, was a driving force in Alexandria’s economy during the early half of the 19th century.
American stoneware was first manufactured in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York in the early 18th century for utilitarian domestic storage.
The Wilkes Street Pottery was initially operated by Hugh Smith, later by his first son Hugh Charles, and finally by his second son, James P. Smith. As the Wilkes Street Pottery transitioned from the control of Hugh Smith & Company to Milburn in 1841, stoneware carrying the Smith mark and the Milburn style emerged.
In contrast to the early, purely practical stenciled design, crocks made by B.C. Milburn bear his handpainted cobalt sprays of stylized blooming flowers and bands of swags.
A similar association between potteries and retailers was visible in pots sold by H.J. Miller, a Virginia merchant who imported stoneware from a manufacture in Greensboro, Pennsylvania.
An array of Alexandria stoneware from a Virginia collector will be offered at Quinn’s Auction Galleries on Dec. 4, 2010. The selection includes pots by H.C. Smith, T.F. Reppert and H.J. Miller.
Quinn’s is located at 431 N. Maple Ave., Falls Church, VA 22046-4203. For additional information, contact Matthew Quinn by calling 703-532-5632 or e-mailing [email protected]. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinnsauction.com