The Beauport, Sleeper-MCann House is somewhat of a hidden gem in Gloucester, Mass., which displays two pieces of 19th-century red earthenware that I have always admired, made by Absalom Bixler (1802-84) in Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pa. According to Historic New England, Beauport, the extraordinary creation of Henry Davis Sleeper (1878-1934), was built between 1907 and 1934 on Eastern Point in Gloucester, Mass. Its origins began conventionally enough as a Queen Anne cottage overlooking the harbor. A comfortable summer retreat for Sleeper, a well-to-do young bachelor from Boston, and his widowed mother. But scarcely had the house been finished when Sleeper began to lay plans for expanding it. Over the next 27 years he continually added rooms, each displayed with spectacular displays of objects. At the time of his death, he had run out of land on which to build, and Beauport had become a 40-room mansion labyrinth. From hallway to dining room, from bedroom to alcove, every room at Beauport is decorated to express a theme. Sometimes the theme was historical, sometimes literary. After sleepers death in 1934, Beauport was put up for sale. SPNEAs director, William Sumner Appleton (1874-1947), hoped to acquire the house and its contents for SPNEA (Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities). Before this could transpire, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E.F. McCann, who had first seen Beauport while on a yachting trip and had fallen in love with it, purchased the house and the grounds intact. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) is a nonprofit historic preservation organization founded in 1910, which today is Historic New England. In 1937, Mrs. McCann approached SPNEA with the idea of bequeathing the house to the society, but unfortunately, she was taken ill and died before plans could be worked out. Five years later, however, after the death of their father, the three McCann children, carried out their late parents wishes and donated the house and its contents to SPNEA. The objects made by Bixler that are owned by Historic New England include a dish that is stamped, ABSALOM BIXLER / TO HIS WIFE SARAH / 1824, as well as a flowerpot that is also stamped, ABSALOM BIXLER / TO HIS WIFE SARAH / 1824. Cynthia G. Falk wrote an article for the Spring 2005 issue of Winterthur Portfolio, titled, Celebrating Years Together: Personal Commemorations and the Colonial Revival. During the second-half of the nineteenth century, Absalom Bixler presented a series of redware plates and flowerpots to his wife, Sarah. An impressed inscription on each marked it as a gift from husband to wife and included the date 1824, although Absalom and Sarah were not married until 1827. The plates and pots were commemorative, marking the longevity of their bond. They were produced during a period when it was increasingly common in the United States to reflect on earlier times by memorializing patriotic events and celebrating handcraftsmanship.... Over the years the plates and flowerpots were acquired by collectors of Americana and eventually found their way into museum collections. These types of wares can be found in Winterthur in Delaware, which likely possesses the largest collection of Bixlers flowerpots and plates. Examples are also at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Interestingly, one of the best and largest flowerpots made by Bixler was just consigned by an estate in Orange County, Calif., to Crocker Farms Spring 2022 auction. The flowerpot was stamped READY FOR A CATCH, and was adorned with an applied black cat sneaking up on a bird perched on a branch. The flowerpot stands an impressive 10.25 inches tall and measures 10.25 inches in diameter. A nearly identical flowerpot is owned by Winterthur, although the cats fur has stripes like a tiger. Another example (with striped cat) is in a private Philadelphia collection. The flowerpot sold by Crocker Farm was also illustrated on the cover of the September 1982 issue of The Magazine Antiques, and previously sold at Sothebys in New York City. Crocker Farm sold it for $78,000 on April 9, 2022. It is quite rare for any of the flowerpots made by Bixler to come up for sale, seeing that what few survived are in museum collections today; however, Crocker Farm has been consigned a second Bixler flowerpot for their upcoming summer auction. This flowerpot is similar to those owned by Historic New England and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as the smaller example illustrated on the cover of the September 1982 issue of The Magazine Antiques. These wares made by Bixler are some of the most unique forms of utilitarian pottery manufactured anywhere in America in the 1800s, transcending from the idea of everyday household wares to folk art. But these objects also display a deep personal connection, showcasing the actual relationship and marriage between Absalom and Sarah. Outside of some marriage forms in existence today, there are very few pieces of American utilitarian pottery that represent such a personal and loving relationship as do these objects. Source Falk, Cynthia G. Celebrating Years Together: Personal Commemorations and the Colonial Revival. Winterthur Portfolio: The University of Chicago Press, Spring 2005.