Ceramics have always been used to preserve images of landscapes and architecture. British potters raised the practice to new heights with the introduction of 18th century refined earthenwares of creamware and pearlware.  The use of transfer-prints helped capture the domestic and vernacular architecture of the cities and countryside.  The most celebrated (and most extensive) project was Josiah Wedgwood’s 'Frog Service' - a 50-person service made for Catherine the Great.  The massive project included 1222 hand-painted views of British landscapes and gardens.

A much more modest object has recently come to light that records a previously unseen type of industrial structure-an Irish brew house.  This creamware jug, ca. 1800, has the names "Matthew and Margaret Pettit" painted on the front and references the family's home and brewery at Mount Folly, in County Wexford, in southeastern Ireland.  The scenes of the house and brewery are hand-painted and thus the jug most have been a highly customized order.