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Pattern Category: Places Series: Shell Border, Circular Center Object Type: Dinner and Dessert Wares Dimensions: - Height: 11.625 inches
- Length: 14.625 inches
Considered Rare Description:
This soup tureen by Enoch Wood & Sons in the Shell Border, Circular Center, shows the Belleville on the Passaic River view on both sides. This pattern is only found in this form. Originally settled by the Dutch in the 1670s, its name was changed to Belleville from Second River (also the original name of the Passaic River itself) in 1797. Belying the peaceful countryside shown here, Belleville has been called the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in America, since the first steam engine operated in this country was used to pump out the flooded Schuyler copper mines here in 1755.
Nicholas Roosevelt, great uncle to Theodore Roosevelt, later ran a concern that manufactured modern steam engines in Belleville. Working for Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston, in 1811 Roosevelt built the steamboat New Orleans in Pittsburgh, which became the first steam powered vessel to navigate the Ohio River to the Mississippi, and thence down to its namesake city. The scene on the lid of this rare tureen is Highlands at West Point, Hudson River #02 (also in this exhibit). The usual undertray to the set is Hope Mill, New York (see also). Most listings spell this BELLEVILLE, but the Wood mark spells it BELLVILLE. The first is the correct spelling as it shows the village of Belleville in New Jersey, on the Passaic River, which flows in to New Jersey Bay.
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