Submitted Photo Shown here is the Olney crock from Gerry and the Mathews Pottery book Martonis published.

SINCLAIRVILLE – Historian Vince Martonis will present a talk and display at the Sinclairville Library on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m. about an early 19th century Chautauqua County pottery. The pottery was operated by Gerry resident Caleb Mathews from 1821 to about 1850.

Martonis has researched the pottery for over 40 years and examined over 1,500 shards he collected. This has allowed him to identify unmarked pieces Mathews made.

He will have about a dozen of these unmarked pieces on display. Many are characterized by what Martonis has identified as “nested numbers” and “grip edge handles.” Knowing what these traits look like allows anyone to identify unmarked Mathews pieces.

In addition, he will display one of the first pieces made by Mathews. This is a large crock with the name OLNEY on it, being shown to the public for the first time. The Olney family were some of the first settlers of Gerry.

The book Martonis published about pottery earlier this year will be available. It contains 30 color photos of crocks and jugs and 19 in black and white, and it’s being sold below cost at $15. Martonis has donated copies of his book to several historical collections in the county.