Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Bennett Pottery Company

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0213
Creators:
Bennett, Edwin, 1818-1908 (potter)
Edwin Bennett Pottery Company
Dates:
1844-1981
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4 Cubic feet
9 boxes, 2 map folders
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Early Bennett family histories, Edwin Bennett's autobiography, correspondence, 1914-1981, Bennett Pottery Company records, photographs, notebooks of clay and glaze formulae and other miscellaneous items, 1844-1981.
Scope and Contents note
Includes 3 photographs related to the Baltimore fire, 1903-1905.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Divided into 8 series: (1) Biographical, (2) Correspondence, (3) Bennett Pottery Co., (4) Catalogs, advertisements, stationary, etc., (5) Photographs, (6) Notebooks of formulae and receipts, (7)Printed Material, (8) Ledgers of the Seven Clay Co. (a subsidiary of Bennett Pottery Company).

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Edwin Bennett, 1818 1908, was the founder of the Edwin Bennett Pottery Company, Baltimore, Maryland, which operated between 1846 and 1936
He was born in Newhall, Derbyshire, England, where he worked as a potter before coming to the United States in 1841 to join his brother, James Bennett, also a potter, in East Liverpool, Ohio.
In order to have access to the railroads, which at that time did not extend beyond the Alleghany Mountains, he decided to move east, first to Pittsburgh and then to Baltimore, Maryland where he built a factory in 1846.
Among the first wares produced were those for utilitarian purposes, such as pitchers, mugs, plates, spittoons, etc. These were primarily yellow wares, referred to by Bennett as "caneware". Mention is also made, and examples are extant, of Rockingham & ironstone wares. One popular model was a "Rebekah at the Well" teapot which was produced in 1851.
Bennett continued to experiment with clay bodies and glazes for many years as his notebooks indicate. The company's general line of merchandise expanded to include decorated porcelain tableware, parlor and banquet lamps, clock cases and other items. Bennett also hired skilled potters who produced artistic wares which were shown at various state exhibitions.
The company received awards from the Maryland Institute in 1854 and 1856, and later at the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876 and the Columbia Exposition of 1893.
Examples of Bennett pottery are in the collections of the Maryland Historical Society, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Two fires, one in 1864 and the other in 1906, destroyed many of the company's records, but advertisements and other materials that were salvaged, give evidence of the growth of the company. Along with its subsidiaries, it became one of the largest suppliers in the United States of hotel kitchen and tableware, chemical containers, public restroom fixtures and roofing tiles. Edwin Bennett was a charter member of the United States Potters Association having aided in its formation in 1875. In 1903 he was honored by the association as America's oldest living potter.
His son, Edwin Huston Bennett, became president of the company in 1890 but Bennett remained active in it until his death in 1908.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Mrs. Portia M. Filbert, 1986, March.
Processing Information
Collection processed by NMAH Staff, 2003
Custodial History
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Ceramics and Glass (Division of Cultural and Community Life), 5/19/1986.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Bennett Pottery Company Records, 1844-1881, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

More Information

Other Finding Aids

Other Finding Aids
Inventory available; contact the Archives Center for more information.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Pottery Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fires -- Maryland -- Baltimore Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Disasters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Potters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business records -- 19th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramics manufacturing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artisans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baltimore (Md.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 1900-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bennett, James Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bennett, Edwin Huston Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Ceramics and Glass Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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