Rare Twenty Gallon, Bristol Slip-Glazed Stoneware Jug with Blue Lettering "STAG LIQUOR Co., HOPKINSVILLE, KY," probably Union Pottery, Red Wing, Minnesota, circa 1900, enormous twenty-gallon stoneware jug with white, Bristol slip glaze and large cobalt block letters advertising the Stag Liquor Co. of Hopkinsville, KY. Probably made by the well-known Union Pottery of Red Wing, Minnesota, which produced a variety of white-glazed stoneware throughout the U.S. in the late 19th through the 20th century. According to RED WING STONEWARE (DePasquale, Peck, and Peterson, 2000), a circa 1900 Union Pottery catalogue offered "15, 20, and 25 gallon jugs made to order. Stenciled for signs when desired" (p. 32). This jug was likely one of these specially ordered, oversized items. According to the consignor, it was once a display piece that sat on the counter of a Kentucky bar until 1915. A monumental example of Midwestern / Kentucky stoneware. Very nice condition with some large chips on underside. Height 26 1/2".
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