Jar

Object number2008.143.1

ManufacturerPossibly James Hamilton and Company

Datec. 1875

Possible OriginGreensboro, PA

Mediumearthenware with alkaline glaze and slip decoration

Credit LineGift of Bernard Vavrek and Joanne Vavrek

DescriptionSalt-glazed stoneware storage jar: four-gallon capacity, with cobalt-slip stencilling, advertising a downtown Pittsburgh merchant; tall, cylindrical shape, bulging outward somewhat at the shoulder, with two applied crescent-shaped handles; incised lines at neck; rounded, overhanging rim; brown Albany-slip coated interior; stencilling has retailer information.Dimensions14.25 x 10 in. (36.2 x 25.4 cm)
MarksStencilling reads: "Mills & Company / 258 Liberty Street / Pittsburgh".
Historical NotesMerchant crock advertising Mills & Company, located at 258 Liberty Street in Downtown Pittsburgh; this firm advertised as a "wholesale druggist", and also sold paint and varnish. The jar was likely made by the James Hamilton pottery in Greensboro, Pennsylvania, who supplied custom-imprinted stoneware for a number of Pittsburgh merchants.

Collector Bernard Vavrek

Subjects