Rare One-Gallon Southern Stoneware Jug, Stamped "SILVER KING SALOON," attributed to George Suttles, La Vernia, Texas, late 19th century, cylindrical jug with rounded spout and salt-glazed surface, impressed with rare advertising for the "SILVER KING SALOON" in a distinctive, large-sized font. Based on an example with a similar typeface in the collection of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this jug was made at the shop of George Suttles in La Vernia, Texas, just east of San Antonio. Because of this, it was clearly produced for the Silver King Saloon of San Antonio, a place well-known for violence in the stereotypical manner of the Old West. Author Lewis Fisher, in his book, Saving San Antonio, calls it "the doomed Silver King Saloon. J.C. Roberson, bartender or proprietor for ... twenty-six years, pointed out holes made by bullets in the floor and in the transom. 'Sometimes the smoke has been so thick I could not see through it,' he told a reporter." A wonderful piece of Texas history. Excellent, essentially as-made condition.
