Rare Stoneware Pig Flask with Incised Poem, Inscribed "By Anna Pottery" and Dated "1880", Wallace and Cornwall Kirpatrick, Anna, IL, 1880, molded flask in the form of a reclining pig with incised details to face and hooves, hole at rear, and anatomically-correct underside, the surface covered in a chocolate-brown Albany slip glaze; one side incised with the inscription "Shortest. Quickest. Cheapest and / Only Safe and reliable / Railroad and River Guide / By / Anna Pottery / with a little good old Bourbon in a hog's". Reverse incised with the rare poem, "You drink your whiskey / And I,ll drink my wine / You tend to your business. / And I,ll tend to mine / 1880". Base, underside, and rear end of pig incised with a "Black Hills" railroad map of the Midwestern U.S. extending to the West, featuring the following landmarks: Cal, Cheyenne, Sidney, Black Hills, St. Louis Kansas City and Northern R.Y., Julesburg, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis the future Great. A desirable example, featuring an inscription and signature, rare poem, and desirable "Black Hills" map. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, consigned from Texas. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with a tiny nick to one ear and some minor in-the-firing touch marks to surface. L 6 1/4".
