Pat Tucker posted a question on the identification of a button maker and
made a comment on Burgess and Goddard as Staffordshire potters with a
partner in New York.  Sorry to say I do not have any information on the
button maker.  Pat went on to comment on Burgess and Goddard as English
potters with offices in New York.  Burgess and Goddard were not potters, but
jobbers that purchased wares that suited the American market from other
potters’ and exported them to New York and other places.  They even had
their mark placed on some wares and their mark would be the equivalent of a
merchant or exporter’s mark.  For example, you will not find Burgess and
Goddard listed in Geoffrey Godden’s *Encyclopedia of British Potter and
Porcelain Marks*.  Neil Ewins wrote an article titled “Staffordshire Ceramic
Trade with the United States: the role of the merchants Goddard, Burgess and
Dale, in the mid-nineteenth Century” that was published in the *Journal of
the Northern Ceramic Society*, Volume 9, 1992, pages 153-161.  In his
article, Neil lists a number of Staffordshire potters from whom Burgess and
Goddard purchased wares to ship to the American market.  I have a Burgess &
Goddard invoice dated February 18, 1874 for wares that were shipped to
Burgess & Goddard of Philadelphia for 38 packages and crates of earthenware
valued at  £352/4/9.  These crates contained 46,641 vessels that had an
average cost of 1.8 English pence, or a little less than four cents per
vessel.



            For more information on the ceramics trade and New York City see
“War and Pots: The Impact of Economics and Politics on Ceramic Consumption
Patterns” by George L. Miller and Amy Earls published in *Ceramics in
America 2008* pages 67-108.  We used information on the purchase of cups,
plates and bowls from 101 New York importers’ invoices to the country trade
dating from 1806 to 1886 to establish the changing patterns of consumption
for the various decorative types as they were affected by declining prices
for ceramics.  *Ceramics in America *is a Chipstone Publication edited by
Robert Hunter and the best price for the volumes is from Amazon.com.  The
2008 volume also has an article by Neil Ewins title “Comparative Studies in
Anglo-American Ceramic Demand” that used papers from the Staffordshire
potters Cork & Edge to show their marketing efforts around the world.  In
addition there is an article by Barbara Magid titled “Robert H. Miller,
Importer: Alexandria and St. Louis.”



Peace,

George L. Miller


On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 7:24 PM, Patrick Tucker <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Looking for information on the firm of Doughty & Robertson of New York. I
> have a Golden Age button with the name and state of this firm on the
> reverse
> side of a brass button from a site that dates circa 1829.
>
>
>
> I suspect that the firm was an importer of goods, particularly buttons,
> from
> England. A Benjamin Doughty appears in the London directories of military
> button manufacturers beginning 1828, and continued under various names
> until
> 1876. However, none of these firms' names has "Robertson" in its title. The
> firm of "Burgess & Goddard, New York" was an importer of Staffordshire
> ceramic wares from various firms. Goddard was a British manufacturer of
> ceramics and Burgess was a New York importer during the 1880s-1890s. The
> two
> formed a partnership to sell ceramic wares throughout the United States. I
> suspect that the "Doughty & Robertson/New York" firm was a similar import
> business like "Burgess & Goddard."
>
>
>
> Do any of our New York friends have any information or sources to consult
> on
> the firm of Doughty & Robertson, and know of any buttons from excavated
> from
> sites with good archaeological and historical context?
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Pat Tucker
>
> Swanton, Ohio
>