Scarce Three-Gallon Alkaline-Glazed Stoneware Jug, Inscribed "L M / April 3d 1840," attributed to David Drake at Lewis Miles's Stony Bluff Manufactory, Edgefield District, SC, 1840, rotund jug with tooled spout and rounded handle with depressed terminal, incised on the front shoulder with the script initials, "L M," for Lewis Miles, and date, "April 3' 1840." Two vertical slash marks, a Drake hallmark, are incised on the shoulder on the jug's proper left side. The surface features a pale grayish-green alkaline glaze typical of earlier period stoneware from Edgefield and includes a prominent green-colored glass run descending from the upper handle terminal- a lesser-seen treatment on pieces from this potting tradition. This jug serves a fine example of Drake's earliest stoneware produced at Lewis Miles's Stony Bluff Manufactory, made during his first few months at this site. A jar made several weeks prior, dated January 27, 1840, is the earliest documented vessel bearing a "Dave" signature. This jug's finely scripted capital initials, "L M," differ from the typical "Lm" commonly found on his later work from Stony Bluff. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example, which descended in an Orangeburg, South Carolina family over one-hundred-plus years through five generations. The consignor was given the jug in 2020 by her stepfather, who remembers the jug at his grandparents' house since he was a young boy. An approximately 11" x 5" thin, inverted fork-shaped crack on front. A 5/8" hole on proper right side of jug. Some exfoliation to base on reverse. Chipping around spout. Shallow chipping to base. H 14 1/2".
