Some of the earliest American stoneware potteries were located in New Jersey because of its rich clay beds and ready access to markets, primarily in New York and Philadelphia. One of the most important was started by Captain James Morgan at Cheesequake, on land purchased by his father. By 1805, Morgan had partnered with Branch Green and Jacob Van Wickle to establish a stoneware pottery in Old Bridge, New Jersey, about ten miles west of the original kiln site. Van Wickle’s son Nicholas was living in Old Bridge in 1824 when he purchased 400 acres in Herbertsville to start his own pottery. The exact dates of operation are unclear, but the pottery had closed by 1850. Water coolers are uncommon forms in New Jersey pottery, but this impressive stoneware piece displays the hard shiny salt glaze typical of New Jersey stoneware. The elaborate cobalt decoration of the Great Seal of the United States is atypical of the pottery produced at this site and suggests that the cooler was made as a gift or presentation piece. However, the incised bird on the obverse appears on documented Herbertsville examples.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Cooler with Eagle and Shield," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.