Publications
Christoph Weber: Redware Potter of the Harmony Society
By Michael Strezewski
January 1, 2023
Tags American Communal Societies Series
American Communal Societies Series, no. 16. 154 pages with illustrations, 2030
ISBN: 978-1-937370-37-4 ($35)
Redware was the first locally made pottery made during the early years of Euro-American expansion across North America. Utilizing methods and stylistic conventions brought from Europe, redware potters made a variety of household wares such as pitchers, storage jars, jugs, plates, and mugs. Christoph Weber was the master potter of the Harmony Society, a German utopian group founded by religious dissenter Georg Rapp. Working from ca. 1808 to 1853, Weber’s pottery was distributed among the Society’s members and sold to their neighbors. Utilizing documentary sources, archaeological investigations, and analysis of surviving ceramics, this volume paints a detailed picture of Christoph Weber, the different types of pottery he manufactured, and his place in the early nineteenth century origins of the ceramics industry in the United States.
Michael Strezewski is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Southern Indiana. Dr. Strezewski has directed archaeological excavations in New Harmony since 2008, publishing numerous reports and articles on the Harmony Society.
