The Kirkpatrick's Potteries in Illinois: A Family Tradition (Transportation Archaeological Research Reports, 3)

This study documents the Kirkpatrick family's vast stoneware output at Vermillionville (ca. 1836-1871) as well as their craftsmanship and creative ceramic artistry. The first third of the report describes the results of Bonnie Gums's IDOT-sponsored controlled-surface-collection and test excavation project at the Vermillionville site. The remainder of the study is devoted primarily to Gums's detailed analysis of over 5,000 diagnostic stoneware sherds and kiln-furniture fragments recovered by Eva Mounce during several years of surface collections at the site. --------- [This volume] offers readers an interesting view into the profound social transformation of industrialization, here seen in the arena of pottery.... This extensive record is a valuable comparative data set for archaeologists working in the region who seek to identify pottery from archaeological contexts, as well as an interesting reflection of the incredible range and diversity of products generated by this traditional pottery firm. Gums et al. have written a lively and cogent exposition. -Patrick E. Martin, Illinois Archaeology 13:160-61, 2001