Jar
Object number2008.143.1
ManufacturerPossibly
James Hamilton and Company
Retailer
Mills 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
On View
Not on view
c. 1875
c. 1868