Object Record
Images
Additional Images [3]
Metadata
Object Name |
Pitcher |
Date |
1849-1854 |
Description |
Ceramic pitcher with firefighting scene. Made of yellow earthenware with Rockingham type glaze. Form has a high waist and angled shoulder, curved spout, and hound shaped handle. Decoration includes relief molded designs of two fire engines and firefighters, with grapevines around the neck. Impressed maker's mark on bottom: "A. CADMUS / CONGRESS POTTERY / SOUTH AMBOY / N.J." Overall height 9 inches. (Keyword: Firefighter, New Jersey) |
Acquisition |
Museum Purchase |
Ownership and History |
This pitcher was once owned by the Eccleston family of Staten Island, and it may originally have been made to order for a group or individual, perhaps for use at social gatherings of a Staten Island volunteer fire company. At that time, in the mid-1800s, there were only a few Staten Island fire companies that might have owned the type of hand-pump (also referred to as a "gooseneck fire engine") that is illustrated on the pitcher. Congress Pottery was purchased in 1849 by Abraham Cadmus, who had previously been associated with the firm of Cadmus and Cough, ship-chandlers of New York City. Cadmus made yellowware and brown Rockingham-glazed ceramics until his death in 1854. |
Earliest Date |
1849 |
Latest Date |
1854 |
Maker |
Cadmus (Congress Pottery) |
Material |
Ceramic |
Subjects |
Fire fighters Fire fighting Food Pottery Tableware |
Lexicon Sub-category |
Food Service T&E |
Catalog Number |
F07.2703 |
Support Acknowledgment |
Online Collections Database record made possible by the Efron family in memory of Dr. Meryl Efron, November 2014. |
Legal Status |
Images and text in this database are copyrighted by the Staten Island Historical Society unless otherwise noted. Items represented here are from the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society. Materials reproduced for personal non-commercial use must credit the Staten Island Historical Society. Commercial licensing is available. |