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| Figure 48 Pitcher, attributed to the Thompson pottery, Morgantown, West Virginia, ca. 1850. Earthenware. H. 9 3/4". (Courtesy, National Museum of American History; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) The molded spout is the only surviving provincial earthenware example known to us. The molds in the Smithsonian include similar spout designs as well as smaller versions of houses. Molded spouts occur on Staffordshire pottery, and in the 1830s and 1840s Staffordshire potters were moving into East Liverpool, Ohio. A craftsman there might have supplied the Thompsons with molds, although no examples have been seen in that city’s excellent ceramics museum. It is also possible that Thompson employed a Baltimore mold maker, as he maintained contact with this city. |