Extremely Rare Slip-Decorated Redware Log Cabin with Raccoon, Inscribed "WHC / 1840," attributed to Thomas Haig, Jr., Philadelphia, PA, 1840, molded in the form of a log cabin with a cider keg at each end and a figure of a raccoon on the roof. Decorated in yellow slip with spots on the raccoon and highlights to the windows, doors, doorstop, and spouts on the kegs. Surface covered in a heavy lead glaze. Underside incised with the initials and date, "WHC / 1840." The initials almost certainly refer to the Whig Harrisburg Convention of December 1839. Held in the Haigs' state capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, this was the first national convention for the party, at which William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were nominated for President and Vice President. An iconic Philadelphia ceramic form, such pieces were produced (usually as banks) by Thomas Haig, Jr. in stoneware, redware, and flint enamel, to commemorate William Henry Harrison's "Log Cabin Campaign of 1840." (This one was probably made to be distributed at the Harrisburg convention.) Relatively few examples produced in each clay medium are known, those in redware being perhaps the rarest. Harrison, a Whig candidate for U.S. President at age 67, was considered too old by Democrats, with one newspaper declaring, "Give him a barrel of hard cider, and. . . a pension of two thousand [dollars] a year. . . and. . . he will sit the remainder of his days in a log cabin." Harrison's Whig Party turned this idea against his opponents, presenting its candidate as "the log cabin and hard cider candidate," a man of the people, who contrasted starkly with the elitist Democratic candidate, Martin van Buren. Haig's cabins, which celebrated Harrison with their log construction and cider kegs at each end, continued to be produced into the 1850s, long after Harrison's ill-fated, one-month presidency, which ended in his death from pneumonia. This example is noteworthy for its condition as the majority known have moderate to significant damage. A 5/8" loss to one corner of base. A few minor chips. A separation line along seam on top of raccoon. L 4 1/8" ; W 3 1/8"; H 4 1/2".
