Very Rare and Important Stoneware "Black Hills" Pig Bottle with Incised Poem, Signed and Dated "By Anna Pottery / 1880", Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick, Anna, IL, 1880, molded in the form of a reclining pig with incised details to face and hooves, hole in rear, and anatomically-correct underside, the surface covered in a chocolate-brown Albany slip glaze. One side of pig incised with the inscription "Shortest Quickest cheapest and Only / Safe and reliable route to California / and the Black Hills / By / Anna Pottery / 1880". Reverse inscribed with the poem "You drink your whiskey / And I'll drink my wine / You tend to your business / And I'll tend to mine". Body and underside of pig incised with a map featuring the following landmarks: St. Louis Kansas City and Northern R.Y. ; St. Louis the future Great / Kansas City ; Omaha ; Julesburg ; Hot Springs ; Sidney ; Cheyenne ; Black Hills ; and Cal. This pig bottle is a particularly important work by the Kirkpatrick brothers as it is the first example of the form we have seen featuring a poem. Its inclusion of a signature, date, and fine Kirkpatrick penmanship with scrolled flourishes to the letters, are also noteworthy. This pig is the largest Black Hills pig we have offered, measuring 1/4" and 1" longer than the two previous examples we have sold. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which descended in the family of the consignor. Excellent, essentially as-made condition with a few in-the-firing contact marks. L 7 1/2".
