Very Rare Morgantown, WV Stoneware Commemorative Water Cooler with Elaborate Flowering Vine Decoration, attributed to the Thompson Pottery, Morgantown, WV, circa 1875, semi-ovoid jug with tooled shoulder and spout, ribbed open handles, and circular bung hole at base, decorated on the front with two rows of flowering vines separated by cobalt brushwork. Reverse decorated with the cobalt inscription "Bael(?) Simpson / July 12th, 1809 / Morgantown Wst. Va. / Nov. 11th [??]." Handles decorated with cobalt flower blossoms, and bung hole with light cobalt highlight. We have yet to determine the significance of the inscription on the reverse. However, July 12th 1809 was the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, and may have significance to this cooler. A rare form for Morgantown stoneware, featuring a highly unusual inscribed reverse side. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, purchased approximately thirty years ago. Lightness to inscription on reverse, making some of it difficult to read or illegible. Chip to one handle. Spout chip on reverse. 1 1/2" hairline to spout on reverse. Small stone ping to body on reverse. H 18 1/2".
