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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 19 2007, 11:54 AM EDT (current) | kjacobso | |
| Jun 19 2007, 11:53 AM EDT | kjacobso | 342 words added |
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In the 1800s, pioneers trekked westward from established cities to form new communities. One of their paramount needs was for secure containers to protect such essentials as flour, herbs, spices, salt, pepper, tea, and coffee from pests and moisture.
In 1850, David Mills Pease of Massachusetts settled his family and established his woodturning mill along Big Creek in the Cascade Valley of northeastern Ohio. He introduced a new style of spindle-turned wooden ware (treen) and crafted household items that were reminiscent of the Connecticut River Valley furniture and pewter forms he had recently left behind. Pease preferred working with sugar maple, but also used black walnut and other local deciduous woods.
The graceful shapes seen in Peaseware furniture, sewing companions, sock darners, pincushions, salt and pepper shakers, pillboxes, candleholders, and toys were developed and refined by Pease and his three sons over the next 50 years. Finial shapes, body profiles, foot conformation, decorative banding, wood selection, and tool marks collectively distinguish Pease’s work from that of other makers. His earliest containers, circa 1850 to 1860, tend to be purely functional with simplified knob finials. The recognizable “classic” vessels were produced during the family’s most prolific period, from 1860 to 1890.
“Exhibition” pieces designed to reach a wider market through trade shows, country fairs, and festivals were popular from 1876 to 1906. During this period, the Pease family created pieces for the Cincinnati Exposition (1870), the World’s Centennial Exposition in New Orleans (1884), the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), and the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (1901). The novel, eye-catching works created for these exhibitions introduced Peaseware to an appreciative audience.
The value of Peaseware is determined by many factors, including condition, rarity, and size. The smallest and largest pieces are the most difficult to find. Larger classic bail-handled containers are highly desirable. Treenware made by the Pease family a century ago was so finely designed that many of the extant pieces are in superb condition and have retained their rich original varnished finishes. They rank among the finest examples of American artistic craftsmanship.
In 1850, David Mills Pease of Massachusetts settled his family and established his woodturning mill along Big Creek in the Cascade Valley of northeastern Ohio. He introduced a new style of spindle-turned wooden ware (treen) and crafted household items that were reminiscent of the Connecticut River Valley furniture and pewter forms he had recently left behind. Pease preferred working with sugar maple, but also used black walnut and other local deciduous woods.
The graceful shapes seen in Peaseware furniture, sewing companions, sock darners, pincushions, salt and pepper shakers, pillboxes, candleholders, and toys were developed and refined by Pease and his three sons over the next 50 years. Finial shapes, body profiles, foot conformation, decorative banding, wood selection, and tool marks collectively distinguish Pease’s work from that of other makers. His earliest containers, circa 1850 to 1860, tend to be purely functional with simplified knob finials. The recognizable “classic” vessels were produced during the family’s most prolific period, from 1860 to 1890.
“Exhibition” pieces designed to reach a wider market through trade shows, country fairs, and festivals were popular from 1876 to 1906. During this period, the Pease family created pieces for the Cincinnati Exposition (1870), the World’s Centennial Exposition in New Orleans (1884), the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), and the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (1901). The novel, eye-catching works created for these exhibitions introduced Peaseware to an appreciative audience.
The value of Peaseware is determined by many factors, including condition, rarity, and size. The smallest and largest pieces are the most difficult to find. Larger classic bail-handled containers are highly desirable. Treenware made by the Pease family a century ago was so finely designed that many of the extant pieces are in superb condition and have retained their rich original varnished finishes. They rank among the finest examples of American artistic craftsmanship.
