Exceptional Stoneware Centennial Presentation Mug with Incised Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, PA origin, circa 1876, molded mug with applied handle, decorated with an intricately-incised and cobalt-highlighted Liberty Bell featuring the large date "1776". The incised name "Seithers," referring to Philadelphia tavern owner, Charles Seithers, appears to the left and right of the bell. Recessed underside is faintly incised "Radley," referring to Philadelphia potter, Aaron Radley. Born in 1828 in Albany, New York, and trained in that city's prolific stoneware tradition, Aaron Oliver Radley came to Philadelphia in or about 1873, where he operated a pottery with two local cigar makers under the name of Salinger, Radley & McCusker. McCusker left the firm by 1877 and by the following year Radley had either struck out on his own or was working for another potter, eventually migrating out of the trade and dying in 1914. Located in the Frankford / Port Richmond area of the city, Radley's pottery was founded at a time and place that pitted him against one of the most titanic American stoneware families, the Philadelphia Remmeys. This Liberty Bell mug is only the third example of this type that we have seen: two bearing the "Radley" and "Seithers" inscriptions, and one lacking them. Literature: For Radley in the Albany area, see Broderick and Bouck, Pottery Works: Potteries of New York State's Capital District and Upper Hudson Region, pp. 173, 190. Rim chips. A 2 5/8" line from rim on proper left side of mug. A 1" in-the-firing surface line from rim along mold seam on proper right side of mug, not visible on interior, ending in a small in-the-firing ping. A 1 1/4" line from rim on reverse. An approximately 4 1/4" horizontal surface line near base on reverse, extending onto proper right side of mug's front. A small base chip and minor base nick. H 4 1/2".
