The Potteries of Trenton Society (POTS) is pleased to partner with the New Jersey State Museum and the Trenton Museum Society to present the 12th Annual Trenton Ceramics Symposium on Saturday, April 18. This year’s speakers will explore the city's importance in the history of the sanitary industry in the United States. "Sanitation and Civilization" will be held in the auditorium of the New Jersey State Museum. Registration and light refreshments will begin at 9 a.m. The program will begin at 10 a.m.
This year's keynote speaker will be Professor Daniel Gerling of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. Dr. Gerling will explain the evolution of sanitary technology and show how the move from "outhouses" and "backhouses" to indoor toilets was enormously important in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in terms of public health, shifting gender roles and architectural trends. Gerling holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. He joined Augustana's faculty in 2012, and in 2013 he began serving as the director of the Writing Center, Augustana's nationally-certified peer tutoring program.
Bill Liebeknecht will investigate Trenton's sanitary innovations by examining over 40 patents granted to the city's inventors during the latter part of the 19th century and opening decades of the 20th century. Patents range from bowl designs to water tanks, flushing mechanisms, seat designs and covers. They also include coupling designs which allowed the tanks to be mounted directly behind the toilet and firmly to the floor. These seemingly insignificant patents had an enormous impact on lives. Liebeknecht is a registered professional archaeologist and is employed at Hunter Research Inc. in Trenton, N.J. He holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Beloit College in Wisconsin and master's degree in public history from Rutgers University.
The afternoon session will offer several delights, including Sally Lane's exploration of the Trenton origins of a legendary White House bathtub, "Rub-a-dub-dub, Four Men in Taft's Tub." Lane, who has a B.A. in history from Columbia University, wrote a weekly newspaper column on Trenton history for eight years. In addition, Ellen Denker, POTS board member and program chair, will offer a brief discussion of the potters' unions and the strike that had such an impact on labor relations in Trenton, transforming the city's ceramics industry. Richard Hunter, of Hunter Research, will end with an overview of Trenton's sanitary manufacturing sites and show how they engaged with the other manufacturing sites in the city.
The day will finish with a closing reception sponsored by the Trenton Museum Society to be held at Ellarslie, the Museum of the City of Trenton, in Cadwalader Park. Participants will be able to view the Trenton Central High School exhibit, which includes examples of Thomas Maddock's Sons Company sanitary ware that was used to outfit the high school. Additional sanitary ware in the museum's collection will be brought out of storage especially for this event.
The Trenton Ceramics Symposium is open to the public. Members of the Potteries of Trenton Society, Friends of the New Jersey State Museum, and Trenton Museum Society may attend for $30, if paid in advance. Attendees who pay at the door will be charged $40. Registration includes all lectures, refreshments, lunch, and a closing reception. A mail-in registration form may be downloaded and printed from the POTS website at www.potteriesoftrenton.org, or interested parties may contact POTS president Patricia Madrigal at 609-695-0122, ext. 100, or email president@potteriesoftrentonsociety.org.