Churn: full view |
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Object Description
| Brief description | Stoneware churn, Charles Hermann and Co., Milwaukee, 1856-1886. |
| Object name | Churn |
| Maker | Charles Hermann and Company, 1856-1886 |
| Date | 1856-1886 |
| Dimensions | 19"H x 8 1/2" diam. |
| Materials and techniques | Wheel-thrown salt-glazed stoneware |
| Marks | Stenciled in cobalt blue glaze: "Manufactured/ by/ Chas. Hermann & Co./ Milwaukee, Wis." and five-gallon capacity mark |
| Original location | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin |
| Current location | Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin |
| Description | Slightly ovoid salt-glazed stoneware butter churn with tall flaring collar. Two applied lug handles made of round strips of clay. Interior coated with dark brown slip. The churn would have originally had a lid, which is now missing. |
| History |
Milwaukee's waterfront location and its role as a regional marketplace made the city an ideal site for the large-scale production of durable and affordable salt-glazed stoneware. In 1856, Swiss immigrant Charles Hermann established the largest and longest-lived stoneware manufactory in the city. As Hermann's dock workers shoveled tons of clay brought by boat from Ohio and Illinois, his potters and kiln operators crafted utilitarian wares such as bottles, churns, crocks and jars for sale throughout the region. Early Hermann stoneware typically was stamped with the company name and adorned with relatively simple cobalt blue glaze decoration, usually flowers or birds. Later examples were usually unadorned, featuring straight-sided walls and stenciled rather than impressed maker's marks. In 1882, Hermann entered a partnership with his stepson Louis M. Pierron (b. 1853) who became sole owner of the company in 1886. Hermann died in Milwaukee in 1892. Milwaukee resident William George Bruce grew up near the Hermann pottery, and his reminiscences of life in the early days of the city include a vivid description of its operations. Bruce wrote: "An army of men was employed to model jugs and jars on revolving discs operated by foot power . . . The raw clay was brought in schooners from an Ohio port. These schooners brought their cargoes up to the nearby river dock. By means of shovels and wheelbarrows, the clay was transported from the vessel to the pottery . . . The pottery personnel proved as interesting as was the industry itself. The potters were German, who hailed from various parts of Germany. There were Pomeranians and Mecklenburgers from the North, Bavarians, Badensers, and Swabians from the South." |
| Sources | "Memoirs of William George Bruce" Wisconsin Magazine of History 16, no. 4 (1933), p. 374 (available online from the Wisconsin Historical Society): http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/wmh,28475; Robert G. Carroon, "The Pottery Industry in 19th Century Milwaukee" Historical Messenger of the Milwaukee County Historical Society 26, no. 1 (1970); Marion Bruhn, "Milwaukee Stoneware-The Elusive Pottery" Ohio Antique Review (June 1979), p. 74-75; Kenneth Dearolf, Wisconsin Folk Pottery in the Collection of the Kenosha Public Museum (1986). |
| Related objects | Other stoneware churns marked by Charles Hermann and documented in the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database include a three-gallon example from the Fort Winnebago Surgeons' Quarters, Portage (object # 06.66.2) and a six-gallon example from the Wisconsin Historical Museum (object # 1947.1371a-b): http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/wda,1877 and http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/wda,1333 |
| Owner | Milwaukee County Historical Society |
| Rights | All images of the artifact illustrated here are (c) 2007 by the Milwaukee County Historical Society. These images may be downloaded and printed by individuals for personal use, research or teaching purposes, or other "fair use" as defined by U.S. Copyright Law. All other uses are strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the Milwaukee County Historical Society. Contact info@milwaukeehistory.net regarding usage and reproduction requests. |
| Digital collection | Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database |
| Digital identifier | MCHS002 |
| Digital format | XML |
| Type | Physical object |
| Keywords | Ceramics; Pottery; Stoneware; Churn; Equipment; Tools and equipment; Furnishings and equipment; Food Processing Tools and Equipment |
| Date digitized | 2007-07-25 |
| Date modified | 2010-11-22 |
Description
| Object name | Churn: full view |
| Rights | All images of the artifact illustrated here are (c) 2007 by the Milwaukee County Historical Society. These images may be downloaded and printed by individuals for personal use, research or teaching purposes, or other "fair use" as defined by U.S. Copyright Law. All other uses are strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the Milwaukee County Historical Society. Contact info@milwaukeehistory.net regarding usage and reproduction requests. |
| Digital collection | Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database |
| Digital identifier | MCHS002a |
| Digital format | image/jpeg |
| Type | Physical object |
| Date digitized | 2007-07-25 |
| Date modified | 2008-03-27 |
