Important and Possibly Unique One-Gallon Independence Day Stoneware Pitcher with Cobalt Tree Decoration, Inscribed in Cobalt "Evan G. Ricketts / July 4th, 1833," Maysville, Kentucky origin, 1833, finely-potted ovoid pitcher with narrow, flaring collar accented with incised lines, and fashioned with a heavily-pinched spout. Decorated around the body with the finely-slip-trailed cobalt inscription "Evan G. Ricketts / July 4th 1833" along with a cobalt tree. Distinctive saw-toothed one-gallon capacity mark impressed below spout. This recently-discovered pitcher is likely the earliest dated example of Kentucky pottery known. Evan Griffith Ricketts (1785-1874) was born in Cecil County, MD, and married Hannah Travers in that state on May 28, 1812. The couple immediately moved west, settling in Maysville, KY, by February 8, 1813, when their first child was born. Evan G. Ricketts is listed as a potter in the 1850 census (the first census to list occupations) and clearly began manufacturing stoneware before making this pitcher in 1833. Further research is required to determine when and where Ricketts first began his operation; however, he is certainly one of the pioneer stoneware potters of Maysville and predates the well-known Isaac Thomas, who began potting in 1834. An important new discovery in Southern stoneware. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, consigned from Minnesota. Large, sealed U-shaped crack extending from rim to left of handle, underneath handle, and up opposite side of handle. Two filled-and-colored chips on interior of rim, and one small, shallow filled-and-colored chip to right side of spout, primarily visible on interior. H 10".
