Exceptional Anna Pottery Stoneware Pig Flask with Incised Figural Decoration, Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, Anna, IL, 1872, molded flask in the form of a reclining pig with hole at rear, incised details to face and hooves, and anatomically-correct underside. Albany-slip glazed surface. Incised on one side with a political cartoon depicting a bearded and spectacled Horace Greely (1811-1872) facing a trap made from his signature broad-brimmed hat, inscribed "Who ever says this is a trap is a liar." A trigger underneath the hat reads, "Presidency." Greeley was the founder and editor of the New York Tribune and the Liberal Republican candidate against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant in the Presidential Election of 1872. He was defeated by Grant in a landslide. He previously served a brief term as a New York congressman and popularized the slogan, "Go West, young man and grow up in the country." The Kirkpatrick brothers, ever-fond of the Harper's Weekly political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, were likely inspired by Nast's depictions of Greeley in creating this special flask. On it, Greeley assumes a curious expression, with his hand outstretched toward the trap, cleverly formed from the bent front leg of the pig. According to the Jonesboro Gazette, on August 31, 1872, this exact flask was presented by Anna's newly-elected mayor, Cornwall Kirkpatrick, to the town's recently-founded Horace Greeley Club, which supported Kirkpatrick's candidacy. The remainder of the pig features an incised railroad map of the Midwestern United States, including the following landmarks: St. Louis the future Capital in, Miss River, grand Tower, narrow gage, C & st L R.R., O & M R.R., IC R.R., C.B.I.C.R.R., Jonesboro, Carbondale, Centralia, Odin, C &V.R.R., Vincens, Junction, Cairo, Mound City, Louisville, Anna, Cincinnati the Porkopolis, and Chicago the Corncrib. Original black-and-white cold-painted highlights to eyes. Among the finest and most historically significant Anna pig flasks known. Included with this lot is a period photograph and signature of Horace Greeley. Literature: Illustrated and discussed on pp. 22-24 of Mohr, Pottery, Politics, Art: George Ohr and the Brothers Kirkpatrick. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with a minor spout chip, a minor in-the-firing nick to one ear, and typical wear to the paint on its eyes. L 8 1/4".
