The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: Claney, Jane Perkins
Title: Research notes on Jabez Vodrey
Dates: circa 1990-circa 2001
Call No.: Col. 945
Acc. No.: 15x71
Quantity: 6 boxes
Location: 18 J 2
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
Jane Perkins Claney holds a PhD in American
Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. She has researched, analyzed, written, and
lectured about historic artifacts, especially ceramics.
Jabez Vodrey (born 1795) was the first English
potter to work west of the Appalachian Mountains. He settled in East Liverpool, Ohio, formed a
partnership with others, and produced yellow wares and Rockingham [i.e. brown
glazed earthenware] pottery. Vodrey died
in 1861, but his sons continued making pottery until 1928.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
Most of the collection is a transcription and
annotation of the diary of Jabez Vodrey, an English potter who moved to the
United States in 1827. (The diary
apparently remains in family hands.) The diary covered both Vodrey’s personal life
and professional activities. Jane
Perkins Claney annotated the diary, but her work on Vodrey does not seem to
have been published. Also in the collection are photographs and
slides of Rockingham ware. Vodrey made
Rockingham wares, but the photos are not of his manufactures. Rather, these photos were probably gathered
by Dr. Claney as she was researching and writing her book Rockingham Ware in American Culture, 1830-1930. Some notecards in the collection seem to
index something, but it is not clear what that is.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan Claney.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
Vodrey, Jabez, 1794-1861.
Topics:
Potters - Ohio - East
Liverpool - 19th century.
Potteries - Ohio - East Liverpool - 19th
century.
Rockingham pottery.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 18 J
2
Box 1:
Folder 1: Diary
gleanings
Folder 2: Vodrey:
pre-Louisville and Louisville
Folder 3: Vodrey:
Troy, [Indiana]: March 1839-March 1847, p. 3-94
Folder 4: Vodrey:
East Liverpool, Ohio: March 1847-1860
Folders 5-6: Diary:
typescript: 1833-1853, Oct. 24
[continues
in next box]
Box 2:
Folder 1: Diary:
typescript: 1853, Oct. 25-1860, April 14
[continued
from previous box]
Folders 2-3: Annotations
[of diary]
Folder 4: Vodrey:
illustrations
Folder 5: Vodrey:
miscellaneous
Folder 6: Notes
and correspondence
Folders 7-8: Photographs
of Rockingham wares
Box 3:
Folder 1: “The
World of Jabez Vodrey”: preface
Folder 2: Draft:
Introduction
Folder 3: Draft:
Pittsburgh
Folder 4: Draft:
Louisville
Folder 5: Introduction
and preface
Folder 6: Draft:
Intro/America: draft 3
Folder 7: Editing
notes
Folders 8-10: Diary
and annotating: current stage
Box 4:
Folders 1-2: Material
used in additions and annotations of earlier versions of pages
Folder 3: Shapes
and decoration mentioned in diary and account book
Folder 4: Correspondence,
with some photos
Folder 5: Lists
of figures, with some photos
Folder 6: Computer
floppy disk
Folder 7: notebook:
“American Civilization”
[course
at an unknown college]
Folder 8: Negatives
Folder 9: Slides:
miscellaneous
Folders 10-12: Slides:
from blue notebook
Box 5:
Notecards
These cards seem to be indexing something, perhaps
the Vodrey diary.
Box 6: Slides of Rockingham earthenware
[Some of these slides are not labeled.]