Extremely Rare Stoneware Storefront Jug Cooler, Roseville, Ohio origin, Dated 1895, very large Albany slip glazed stoneware jug-form cooler with applied handle, circular bung hole at base, and original holes on sides of spout to allow for a covering. Cooler is incised in large letters "MADE FOR / E.M. RANSBOTTOM / FCB / ROSEVILLE O. / By Joe Armstrong / Oct 10th 1895". The exceptionally large size of this jug, as well as the unusual inscription on it, indicate it was made to be displayed as an advertising piece for the E.M. Ransbottom Pottery in Roseville, Ohio. This cooler was likely displayed at the front of the pottery itself, or perhaps a nearby place of business. The initials "FCB" surrounding an open book, sword, and crossed awes, refer to "Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence," the slogan of a fraternal organization known as the Order of the Knights of Pythias. The Order of the Knights of Pythias was founded in 1864 in Washington, D.C. It was the first fraternal organization to be chartered by an Act of Congress. The Order of the Knights of Pythias actually began during the Civil War, its founder, Justus H. Rathbone, believing that it might heal the schism between the North and South. President Lincoln even noted, "The purposes of [this] organization are most wonderful. If we could but bring its spirit to all our citizenry, what a wonderful thing it would be." Storefront pieces of this type are extremely rare, and few have survived. Bung hole lost during the firing. Small spout chip and in-the-firing contact marks on top of spout. Wear to inner ledge inside spout. In-the-firing separation line where handle meets spout. H 39 1/2".
