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Crocker Farm, York, Pennsylvania

Fenton & Hancock Stoneware Water Cooler Exceeds All Expectations

by Karl H. Pass

Anthony Zipp announced prior to the November 4, 2006, Crocker Farm sale that this was the sixth stoneware and redware specialty auction for the Zipp family of Riderwood, Maryland, and their second held on the York fairgrounds. Their first auction was held July 17, 2004, in Boonsboro, Maryland. The family's consignment base and buying audience continues to build, and moving the sales to Pennsylvania has generated a great amount of positive feedback.

Crocker Farm auctions have been largely dominated by private collectors rather than the trade, and this sale in the Old Main Building on the York fairgrounds was no exception. The sale grossed $539,154 (including buyers' premiums). Of the 446 lots offered, 114 sold to the phones, eBay, or absentee bidders. Only five of the 12 lots holding reserves failed to sell.

Not only did the November auction witness the largest salesroom attendance for a Crocker Farm sale, but the Zipps also sold more catalogs for this sale than any other. More important was the fact that the sale posted more than one record-breaking performance, signifying the marketplace is healthy in this specialized field.

A four-gallon Fenton & Hancock water cooler from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, kicked off the sale, selling for $88,000, a new record for a stoneware specialty auction, surpassing the $72,600 paid for the H. Myers water cooler sold at the Zipps' first auction. "I guess we no longer hold the record," joked a slightly dejected Jim Kappler, seated in the front row, the buyer of that H. Myers cooler in 2004.

The buyers of the Fenton & Hancock cooler were a couple who purchased it on behalf of the New York State Museum in Albany. They said they actively buy several "important" pieces of American stoneware every year for the museum, to which they gave their stoneware collection, numbering roughly 150 pieces, several years ago. A book is in the works highlighting the museum's stoneware holdings with sales to benefit programs at the institution.

What made this record-setting cooler unique was its detailed slip decoration of a man and woman. The bearded man is dressed in military attire and wears a sword, and the woman is wearing a lacy dress and necklace. An exquisitely detailed slip-trailed cobalt vine extends horizontally below the figures. The catalog noted that research suggests the pair may represent two St. Johnsbury, Vermont, residents: Civil War General Asa Peabody Blunt and his wife, Mary.

According to the son of the consignor, his father bought the cooler out of a basement over 30 years ago. It was overpainted with a Victorian-style floral scene. Only sometime later, upon stripping the paint, was the elaborate design work discovered.

The other record-breaker came 23 lots later when an incredibly rare M. & T. Miller stoneware birdhouse sold for $71,500 (est. $20,000/30,000). This is believed to be an auction record for Pennsylvania stoneware. Signed "M & T Miller/ New Port/ Perry Co/ Penn" and attributed to Michael and Theophilus Miller, Jr., the birdhouse was found in a grape arbor in the early 1950's. It was then sold to Portage County, Ohio, dealer Jean Massar and was not seen in the market again until Garth's sold Massar's estate in 1978, which is when the Crocker Farm consignor purchased it.

The circa 1870 dome-shaped form with pointed finial, incised bird decoration, and profile bust of a man with a mustache had an arched opening at its base and old nest material inside. The bidding battle was between two private collectors. As with many stoneware collectors who buy according to maker or region, the buyer bought the lot because of the potter and because he has specialized in collecting M. & T. Miller pottery for over 20 years.

The Zipps have a way of assembling diverse material for their specialized sales. A large selection of Virginia stoneware and redware and other assorted southern pottery was offered, as was a good selection from the popular J. & E. Norton factory, Bennington, Vermont. Early New Jersey and New York City stoneware was included too, not to mention Mid-Atlantic and midwestern material.

A two-gallon stoneware jug by J. & E. Norton, with a slip-trailed scene of a deer standing by a fence and tree and with a long stamped list of goods sold by merchant Giles & Company, sold for $17,050. Advertising pieces such as this, with such an extensive listing of merchandise-one of which was crockery-are fairly rare. The jug sold to the private collector who underbid the Fenton & Hancock water cooler. Another J. & E. Norton jug with a quintessential Norton deer scene sold for $18,700. It went to the private collector who underbid the M. & T. Miller birdhouse.

The only glitch this writer witnessed was when the eBay Live Auctions service went down briefly. eBay Live Auctions service was interrupted at several auction houses in previous months. While this occurrence was a hindrance to the pace of the action and those at home interested in bidding, the outage did not last long, and the service was back up and running after missing roughly 30 lots.

The Zipps' next sale will be held in the spring. For more information, contact Crocker Farm at (410) 337-5090; Web site (www.crockerfarm.com).