[Nhcoll-l] Fish curation in early 20th century

[Bloch,Lindsay]

Hello,


I am seeking information on ceramic storage vessels used for housing fish specimens in the 20th century. Here at the Florida Museum we have a number of large stoneware crocks (see attached images) that were used for oversized specimens before large glass jars were widely available. The crocks came to us in the late 1970s with the collection of Ralph Yerger. He obtained his PhD from Cornell, and we have reason to believe that some of his initial collection may have originated there, including these vessels.


Our crocks are similar in form to those used for food fermentation (pickles/sauerkraut/meat), with a water well in the rim that could produce an airlock. In the museum, they were sealed with beeswax to reduce evaporation. It is unclear whether they are repurposed fermentation crocks, or if they were made intentionally for museum curation. They are molded, using a buff/cream colored stoneware clay, with brown Albany Slip on the interior and exterior. The matching lids were wheel-thrown. They are 24” tall and 12” diameter. There are no maker's marks or capacity marks of any kind. ​Unfortunately, late 19th-early 20th century industrial pottery has not received much scholarly attention, so it is difficult to track down, especially without maker's marks.  ​


I'm trying to learn where these vessels were produced, and whether they were widely used or a Cornell-centered idiosyncrasy. Given the history of pottery production and fermented foods, I'm currently thinking that the northeastern US is a likely origin, though the form has precursors in Europe, especially Germany. Please let me know if you have seen these or other similar ceramic vessels for housing museum collections. You may reach me off-list at lbloch at floridamuseum.ufl.edu<mailto:lbloch at floridamuseum.ufl.edu>. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Best,
Lindsay

Lindsay Bloch, Ph.D.
Collections Manager
Ceramic Technology Laboratory
Florida Archaeological Collections
Florida Museum of Natural History
Dickinson Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611
lbloch at floridamuseum.ufl.edu<mailto:lbloch at floridamuseum.ufl.edu>
(352) 273-1924
[cid:9106AD15-1792-4CDE-BFA6-69B4B6DAB57A at flmnh.ufl.edu][cid:81E8A561-B102-4D25-BD13-5EC8D9A23856 at flmnh.ufl.edu]
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