Rare Anna Pottery Albany-Glazed 1879 Pig Bottle

March 23, 2019 Stoneware Auction

Lot #: 43

Price Realized: $5,310.00

($4,500 hammer, plus 18% buyer's premium)

PLEASE NOTE: This result is 5 years old, and the American ceramics market frequently changes. Additionally, small nuances of color, condition, shape, etc. can mean huge differences in price. If you're interested in having us sell a similar item for you, please contact us here.

Auction Highlight: March 23, 2019 Auction | Anna Pottery

March 23, 2019 Auction Catalog

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Rare Anna Pottery Stoneware Pig Flask, Signed "By Anna Pottery / 1879", Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, Anna, IL, 1879, molded flask in the form of a reclining pig with hole in rear, incised details to face and hooves, and anatomically-correct underside. Incised on one side with rare inscription, "St. Louis the future Capital in- / Illinois Central Railroad / and River Guide / with a little good Old Bourbon / By / Anna Pottery / 1879". Remainder of pig incised with a map of the Midwest, including the following landmarks: Miss River, Chester, Grand Tower, Pinckneyville, O&M R.R., Springfield, Bloomington, Vandalia, Effingham, Odin, Centralia, Tamaroa, DuQuoin, Carbondale, Mounds, Anna, Chicago the Great Corn City, and Cincinnati the Great Pork City. Surface covered in a reddish-brown Albany slip glaze. This pig is the first example that we have seen featuring the inscription, "Illinois Central Railroad". Founded in 1851 and referred to as the "Main Line of Mid-America", this rail system was among those most familiar to the Kirkpatrick brothers; it connected Chicago, IL with New Orleans, LA and passed through a number of towns commonly found on Anna Pottery "Railroad and River Guide" flasks, including Cairo, Centralia, Springfield, Effingham, and St. Louis. It was supported by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, both Illinois men, the former serving as a lawyer for the railroad, the latter owning land near the railroad's terminal in Chicago. When completed in 1856, the Illinois Central was the longest railroad in the world, extending from Cairo, IL at the southern tip of the state to Galena, IL in the northwest corner. Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick's fascination with railroads is evidenced by a few distinctive forms they produced, among them the popular pig flasks and presentation railroad conductor pitchers. The significance of the Illinois Central Railroad to the potter-brothers may have made this flask a special keepsake of theirs, as this piece was never sold, having descended directly in the Kirkpatrick family line to its current owner. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which descended in the Kirkpatrick family to the current owner. Excellent condition with a small chip and minor nick to interior of spout. Some traces of old whitish paint to surface and within incising. L 6 5/8".