Important and Possibly Unique Two-Gallon Stoneware Crock with Cobalt Decoration of a Dinosaur, Stamped "FULPER BROS. / FLEMINGTON, NJ," circa 1890, cylindrical crock with tooled shoulder, semi-rounded rim, and applied lug handles, decorated with a slip-trailed design of a bipedal dinosaur with large eye, short arms, and long curving tail, standing atop a stylized ground. The decoration on this crock may have been inspired by the rise of American interest in dinosaurs during the latter part of the 19th century. This new fervor was sparked in part by the discovery of the first American dinosaur fossil in 1858. The creature was a hadrosaurus, or duck-billed dinosaur, found in Haddonfield, NJ, approximately sixty miles from Flemington, where this crock was made. Hadrosaurus is an herbivorous, bipedal species with an elongated snout, which looks similar to the dinosaur on this crock. The discovery was considered important on a number of levels. Not only was it the first dinosaur to be discovered in America, it was also one of the first nearly-intact dinosaur skeletons found in the entire world. Moreover, the animal walked on two legs. At that time in history, all dinosaurs were believed to walk on four legs like lizards. This crock may possibly commemorate this significant paleontological find. To our knowledge, it is the only known example of American stoneware with a clear depiction of a dinosaur. Two rim chips on reverse and a few very minor nicks on interior of rim.
