Crock
PeriodCirca 1852 - 1856
Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSalt glazed stoneware
Dimensions10.38 × 13 in. (26.4 × 33 cm)
ClassificationsStoneware
Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936
Object number1979.508.47
DescriptionLarge bellied four gallon crock with a grayish tan body and two flattened eared handles set just below the wide flaring rim lip. The front of the crock is impressed with the mark "VAN SCHOICK & DUNN. / Makers, / Middletown Point, N.J." A large double blossom floral spray decorates the front of the crock, with the number '4" written between the pair of blossoms, all in deep cobalt blue. The crock is glazed inside with brown slip.NotesJosiah Van Schoick (1822 - 16 July 1898) and Ezra Dunn (1820 - 12 October 1898) founded the Van Schoick & Dunn pottery company in Matawan, in operation for more than 100 years. Josiah Van Schoick was born in 1822 and apprenticed as a blacksmith under Leonard Bedle in the Mechanicsville section of Hazlet. In 1850, Van Schoick partnered with potter Abial Price in operating a stoneware business. According to Van Schoick's obituary, "this did not succeed very well." Van Schoick then began a new stoneware firm, this time with Ezra Dunn. Dunn, born in Mercer County in 1820, moved to Matawan in 1845 where he worked as a carriage painter. This time, the partnership of Van Schoick and Dunn was a success. The two men complemented each other, running the firm smoothly and well. In addition to stoneware and earthenware vessels, Van Schoick & Dunn produced roof tiles, drain pipes, and other practical items. In 1856, the firm changed its name to Dunn, Dunlop & Co. after William A. Dunlop joined the firm as a partner. William Dunlop's sister, Hermione, was married to Ezra Dunn. Josiah Van Schoick married Sarah Carlyle (1825 - 1899) in 1850, and the couple had two daughters, Mary and Fanny, and a son James B., who worked in the stoneware company for a time. Ezra Dunn married Hermione Dunlop in 1849. The couple had eight children. Dunn apparently suffered from ill health, his obituary noting that he had "not been physically able to give any attention to the business" for a number of years. Josiah Van Schoick, however, was still actively engaged in the stoneware company, working in the factory up to a week before his death. Josiah Van Schoick died on July 16, 1898, of dysentery. Ezra Dunn died three months later on October 12, 1898. Both men were buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan. The firm continued until well into the twentieth century as Dunlop & Lisk Pottery Company.
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