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Date: | Mon, 1 Nov 2004 13:04:55 -0500 |
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The 2004 volume (number 4) of Ceramics in America edited by Rob Hunter for
Chipstone Foundation has just been published. Rob is to be congratulated
for again pulling together a fine collection of very important articles
dealing with a range of topics from the excavation of important pottery
sites to excellent research on ceramic history and on recreating some of
the technological processes in the production of wares. The New
Discoveries section of the journal edited by Merry Outlaw has thirteen
contributions that provide insights on various types of ceramics and new
information on some well known wares. Also included are six book reviews
plus a twenty-page bibliography of new publications compiled by Amy Earls,
the Book Review Editor for the journal. Those contributing articles to the
2004 volume include: Norm Barka, Al Luckenbach, Martha McCartney, Edward
Ayers, Ross Ramsey, Jonathan Rickard, Donald Carpentier, Don Horvath and
Richard Duez, Emmanuel Cooper, Kurt Russ, and Ivor Noël Hume.
Time wise, the articles range from the excavation of a seventeenth
century pipe kiln in Maryland to the pottery of Bernard Leach to the
recreation of an engine turning lathe by Don Carpentier. My personal
favorite article in the volume is "The Little Engine that Could: Adaption
of the Engine-Turning Lathe in the Pottery Industry" by Jonathan Rickard
and Donald Carpentier. This article is centered around an engine turning
lathe that Carpentier was able to build and a very detailed set of
photographs of how this rose and crown lathe created the various patterns
that we commonly see in archaeological assemblages dating from the 1770s
into the 1840s. This volume of Ceramics in America, like the three that
preceded it, has superb wonderful color photographs by Gavin Ashworth.
The 2004 volume is particularly rich in articles and new discoveries
on American-made stoneware and redware. Norman Barka's article on his
excavations of the "Poor Potter" of Yorktown and Martha McCartney's new
research on this potter make an excellent contribution to our understanding
of the difficulties of establishing a pottery in the colonial period and
provides ample evidence of the success of the "Poor Potter." Al
Luckenbach's excavation of a seventeenth century pipe kiln in Maryland is
an important article and I think it is the first pipe kiln to be excavated
from this early period. The range of pipes and decorations are very
interesting. All things considered, this is another excellent contribution
to the ceramic literature. It was published by the University Press of New
England for Chipstone Foundation, ISBN number 0-9724353-3-6. The list
price is $55.00, but it probably can be purchased cheaper from Amazon.com.
George L. Miller
URS Corporation
561 Cedar Lane
Florence, New Jersey 08518
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