# Reassembled Redware - save your shards!



## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Here in the Philly area broken redware plates are a common find in older holes, but it's amazing how many people just throw all the broken stuff back. Hopefully this assortment of reassembled slipware will inspire you to save your shards, these represent some of the more unusual plates I've dug over the years...

 First is a big charger from a late 1700's - early 1800's hole with an unusual yet simple decoration


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Strait line decoration, circa late 1700's...


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Another straight line decoration, these black on yellow plates are generally thought to be English. This came from a circa 1750's hole.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Sort of a windmill pattern, from an 1830's - 40's hole.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Whoops, wrong picture with that last one...correct description for that is straight lines with combed edges, came from a circa 1720 - 40 hole...


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

This is where this goes - Sort of a windmill pattern, from an 1830's - 40's hole.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

From a mid 1840's hole, was laying on the bottom in 3 pieces...


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Sort of a random mottled design, from a mid - late 1700's hole...


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## GuntherHess (Mar 1, 2011)

Those are some amazingly linear patterns on the first couple.  I'm used to the squiggles on one of the latter ones.


 Does that one plate say "Eli" on it?


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Damn, forgot the picture...


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

A smaller plate from the same hole


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## JOETHECROW (Mar 1, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Ratzilla
> 
> From a mid 1840's hole, was laying on the bottom in 3 pieces...


 

 Does that say "Eli"?


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

I call this one 'fishbone' pattern, also from the same 1700's pit..


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## luckiest (Mar 1, 2011)

Wow. I like these, great age


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

This cut design is called 'scraffito', was very popular with the Pennsylvania dutch, but not to many made it as far east as Philly, where this one was dug from a 1770's era hole..


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Wild multicolor design, possibly English again. From an early 1700's hole.


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## cyberdigger (Mar 1, 2011)

Were these pices kind of an early interpretation of the disposable plate? The concept intrigues me.. the designs ..well, I'm an artist, and I love all of them..!


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Ooops, forgot the pic again, DOH!


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Another, very similar plate from the same hole, this one has an unusual flat outer rim.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Another funky mottled plate, from pre 1750 layer...


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## cyberdigger (Mar 1, 2011)

...I can imagine cakes being served on these.. cakes that looked just like the design on the plates.. []


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

The green splotches in the glaze on this one  are typical of the late 1700's.   From a 1790 - 1810 era layer


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Another 'name' plate, these custom plates were obviously special made by the local redware potter, and were apparently rather popular for a while in the early 1800's. From an 1830's - 40's hole.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

A completely different form with no decoration. This came from the oldest hole I ever dug, circa 1690 - 1710.  No whole bottles, just broken pancake onions - yes I saved the pieces!


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

A couple minis...the one on the left came from an 1860's dump(only non privy dug plate here), the one on the right from an 1840's hole


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Here's a great bird plate, probably english again. From a mid - late 1700's hole - got most of the pieces from previously dug tailings..


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

A classic windmill pattern, and the only plate here I didn't personally dig(one of the guys I usually dig with found this by himself and saved the pieces for me). From an 1860ish hole.


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

Another great large mottled plate from a 1730 - 50 era hole


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## cyberdigger (Mar 1, 2011)

Man.. that one is sexy..


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## Ratzilla (Mar 1, 2011)

And here's the last one for now, the big king daddy of my reassembled platage, this came from the same hole as the bird plate, obviously by the same maker.  Why anyone would leave shards like this behind is beyond me(although I really can't complain in this case, since I got them).  Okay, have I convinced you to save your shards yet?


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## cyberdigger (Mar 1, 2011)

Slam dunk, dude!! []


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## blade (Mar 1, 2011)

Wicked redware.


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## baltbottles (Mar 1, 2011)

Tom,

 Great plates I wouldn't mind getting into a few early philly pits and finding a few of those.


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## JOETHECROW (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks for posting these...I'm a great saver of shards/sherds.... Have yet to dig anything quite that early though...[]


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## KBbottles (Mar 1, 2011)

Very nice work Tom!  Love the name plates.


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## cowseatmaize (Mar 2, 2011)

Nice, are you going to try and find out about Eli and Amelia?


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## Road Dog (Mar 2, 2011)

Thanks for posting the great pics. I'm a bit of a pottery freak. I haven't even seen some of those patterns before. Are they fairly rare?


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## toddrandolph (Mar 2, 2011)

Those plates are fascinating. Don't find much redware around here, but not much of that great age here in Ohio. As a chair caner, i can say that whoever caned that chair did a truly awful job!


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## wolffbp (Mar 2, 2011)

Truely a wonderful collection of glue-backs!!!  How people can leave that stuff behind is beyond me.  Excellent, thank you very much for sharing.

 Brian


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## Steve/sewell (Mar 2, 2011)

Very nice fellow Jerseyite.That is quite a collection you have there congratulations.Do you sell any of your finds in town at any of the antique stores?


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## Ratzilla (Mar 3, 2011)

I have a booth over at the Old Mill where I sell my extra bottles and all the crud I find at yard sales - cheap is good (and occasionally out on the curb - free is better) - won't be seeing these plates over there, though!  (although I do sometimes sell some of the more ordinary design reassembly plates at bottle shows, I have plenty of them now, probably will have a couple at Baltimore)


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## Jim (Mar 3, 2011)

Nice reconstructions, Tom. I always save the decorated redware and yellowware shards. I don't find much decorated redware around here, but I have two decent plates that I got from the very bottom of an 1860s pit.  ~Jim


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## Dabeel (Mar 6, 2011)

Awesome Tom...........and I thought Chris(balt) was the only one with some amazing plates!!

 I always reconstuct ....even simple plates just to tell friends/family who visit my house, that this plate sat on somebody's dinner table in the 1800's

 Great stuff!

 Doug


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## phil44 (Mar 10, 2011)

thanks for sharing!


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## andy g (Mar 14, 2011)

Tom --

 Awesome plates in designs that I have not seen come out of the ground.  Thanks for posting.  If I ever get my act together, I will post some of my dug redware.  Such pretty sights!

 Terrific.

 Andy


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## barbuck (Mar 16, 2011)

Wow, those old plates are so interesting! And the funny thing (to me at least) is that most of those designs wouldn't have looked out of place in a "modern art" collection from the 1970's!

 Buck


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