Pitcher

Object Name:

Pitcher

Object ID:

1914.014.269

Place of Origin:

Liverpool, England

Date:

1797-1812

Description:

Pitcher. Creamware earthenware. Barrel-shaped body with sharply pointed spout and loop handle. Slight foot ring present. Decorated in black transfer print and gold and red overglaze hand painting. There are seven separate transfer prints, three large and four small ones. Beneath handle is man blowing a horn. In the background is a fortified building with a flag and two men in a canoe. The man with the horn wears a flat-topped hat, vest, jacket, calf-length pants and shoes. Another small print is a man with a sextant. Behind him is a building with a billowing smokestack and a large ship. The man is shown wearing a jacket, ankle-length pants and shoes. The third small image is a tulip to the right of the spout. The fourth small image is a sprig of flowers to the right of the handle. One large image is of a large ship (square rigged) with the title underneath the image, "MASSACHUSETTS". Depicts a very large ship with two American flags and approximately fifteen sails and a female figure for a masthead. There are no people shown on the ship. On the opposite side is another large transfer print showing a map, "NEWBURYPORT / HARBOUR". Above the map is a "LIBERTY" cap with eagle surrounded with a laurel wreath and two American flags. Beneath the map is a banner with the words: "SUCCESS TO THE COMMERCE of NEWBURYPORT". The map shows the Merrimack River, Plumb Island, Salisbury Beach, Newbury Bar and Newburyport. The third large transfer print is a circular medallion underneath the spout which depicts Lady Liberty holding a shield in one hand and a laurel sprig in the other. Beside her is an eagle with shield, a cannon and a spear. Behind her is a pyramid-shaped monument with a man's face on it. In the background is a large ship. Around the medallion is a band with fifteen stars. Hand-painted gold floral design and swags around the spout and rim. There is slight evidence of red highlights around the gold. Gold text beneath Lady Liberty is illegible. No maker's marks seen.

Material:

Ceramic
Earthenware - Creamware

Dimensions:

H-11.6 W-12.1 Dia-8.5 inches

Provenance:

Collected by Martha E. Durgin (1833-1916) of Concord, NH. She probably began her collection in the late 1880s-early 1890s.

Old handwritten label inside reads, "Liverpool pitcher owned by John Marston, who was born in Brentwood, NH, October 23, 1773. Married Catherine Buntin in 1797 Newburyport, MA, and lived there till 1812, when they moved to Gilmanton, NH. Died October 1840, aged 76 years."
John Marston, son of John Marston, born in Newburyport, MA, 1803, married Elizabeth Parsons of Gilmanton, NH.
His only son and child, George M. Marston, born May 2, 1835, married Mary Lord in May 1861, settled in Concord, NH, where he resided until he died in the summer of 1909. The Liverpool pitcher was handed down to him from his grandfather, John Marston, born Oct. 23, 1773."

Credit Line:

Gift of Martha E. Durgin

People:

Marston, John (1773-1840), Marston, John (1803-1891), Marston, George H. (1835-1909), Durgin, Martha E. (1833-1916)

Subjects:

Newburyport Harbor