Old Wash Basin

[trgams]

This has been in the family for some time...Just wondering if someone has seen something similar, and might be able to shed some light to the origin of this I think it's the jug from a wash basin, but am unshure...any info would be greatly appreciated..

[Lowbatts]

That is a real beauty tgrams. Is it possible for you to get a good shot of the marks on the bottom? That would tell us a lot more about it.

[trgams]

Thanks alot Lowbatts.....all the markings on this piece are pretty much visible...there are no hallmarks inside, or on the bottom.....no indentions etc. to give any hint as to the manufacturer....I was thinking about taking it to a local museum, but they charge quite a bit for their time....Thanks again for the help.

[Rich in Houston]

Every family should have one to read...

[Dsorgnzd]

A search on "tyrant's foe" found a couple of references to "The tyrant's foe, the peoples' friend: a free press" attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

[Chiz]

is there / was there a large bowl with it that it could set in? If not, it might just be a water pitcher... but real nice to begin with!!!

8)

[trgams]

Thanks alot for the responses so far....as far as it having a large bowl that matches...not sure, I've never seen one, and I have never been told that one existed. The info I have is that this was given to my mother by a man in a small town in upstate NY in exchange for some furniture re-finishing work that she had done. I don't know if it has any value or not, but it has been fun getting responses from you all, and it is a pleasure to see that so many people have viewed it...I hope you all will keep up your excellent responses!

[trgams]

Thanks so much for your response....to update, I have contacted the person at that adress, and here is a part of the response I recieved: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"This design on Staffordshire china is usually called the "Constitution" pattern, but that name misses the real reason behind these pieces. They were made in the late 1830's to commemorate the murder of Elijah Lovejoy in Alton Illinois. Lovejoy was a newspaper publisher who strongly supported the abolitionist cause, and he was killed in 1837 by a pro slavery mob who also destroyed his printing press. The motif with Liberty and the slave refers to the Tyrants Foe, while a slightly different version mentions Lovejoy and Alton by name.

This design is most commonly seen on plates of various sizes, with the Constitution filling the center and the slave/printing press scene on the rim. It was also made as pitchers in at least three sizes, depicting the slave in a much larger format one side. All of these items were typically made in blue - a few very rare examples are known in brown. The smaller of the pitchers is about 4 1/4" tall (from the base to the top rim, ignoring the handle and spout). The next size is about 6 1/2", and the larger one is about 7 1/4"."
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Again, Thanks for the help!!!