Rare and Important Anna Pottery Stoneware "Black Hills" Pig Flask with Incised Drinking Poem, Signed "By Anna Pottery," Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, Anna, IL, Dated 1880, molded flask in the form of a reclining pig with hole at rear, incised details to face and hooves, and anatomically-correct underside. Incised on one side with the slogan, "Shortest, Quickest, Cheapest and / Only Safe and reliable / Railroad and River Guide / By / Anna Pottery. / with a little good old Bourbon in a hogs." Reversed incised with the rarely-seen drinking poem and date, "You drink your whiskey/ And I'll drink my wine/ You tend to your business/And I'll tend to mine / 1880." Underside incised with a railroad map running from St. Louis, Missouri to the Black Hills of California, including the following landmarks: St. Louis the future Great, St. Louis Kansas City and Northern R.Y., Kansas City, Omaha, Julesburg, Sidney, Cheyenne, and Black Hills. Surface covered in a chocolate-brown Albany slip glaze. One of only a few Anna pig flasks that we have offered featuring an incised poem. Excellent condition with an in-the-firing contact mark to base of tail, a tiny nick to one ear, and a few in-the-making lightly-glazed spots. L 6 1/2".
