Liverpool Pitcher

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[Narrator] In 1804, a British ship slicing through the ocean on its way to America could be carrying out any number of innocent or nefarious missions. Yet deep within some of those vessels was something unexpected and unmistakably innocent. Dishware.

A delicate artifact at Iowa's State Historical Museum tells this centuries old story.

[Jodi Evans Registrar State Historical Society of Iowa] We believe this pitcher was made in Liverpool, England around 1804, and then was brought to the United States as part of trade. Pitchers like this were made literally by the boatloads because they were made cheaply and they were used as ballast in sailing ships that came to America. Ballast is what would have been put in the bottom hold of a ship just to keep it from rocking back and forth. Some people used rocks, some people used people because these wares, and not just pitchers, but cups and saucers and plates and all sorts of eating utensils because they were so cheaply made. You could put a whole bunch in a ship, keep it on an even keel, and then sell it when you got to wherever you were going.

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When a captain got to America, he sold the ballast, what was left of it, to bars and pubs and restaurants and places that served food and drink. They were very cheaply made. They were made to be broken. Many have survived, but they are all chipped and cracked and what have you. This particular pitcher was used in Wadham Mills, New York by a man named Jesse Braman. His son Oscar and his wife brought the pitcher to Iowa in 1864. It was part of their family heritage.

[Producer] Is it dishwasher safe?

[Evans] No, it is not dishwasher safe. You cannot put it in the microwave either.

[Narrator] Standing about 10 inches tall, this fragile heirloom is made of cream ware, a term that describes the yellowish glaze applied to these earthenware pitchers. Manufactured in high volume by multiple English potters over several decades, it's difficult to know how many were produced, how many still exist today, or what condition they're in.

[Evans] Pitchers like this come up for auction quite often. Most of them are broken.

This pitcher is chipped and scarred and worn. It was used in a place of business, a pub or a bar or a restaurant. The fact that it survived is quite remarkable.

[Narrator] The gold oval tag on this Liverpool pitcher is simply an identifying label added by the museum when it was donated. By contrast, the black transfer printed images were applied at the time of manufacture to commemorate the American Revolution.

[Evans] On one side there is a transfer print of a sailing ship with the caption Success to Trade. And on the other side is a transfer print of a globe, George Washington and other figures. Under the spout, there is a transfer print of an eagle with the text peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations entangling alliances with none, which is a quote by Thomas Jefferson.

[Narrator] Why was a Jefferson quote significant in 1804? That was the year he won a landslide reelection as president. Offering another clue to this artifact's purpose, marketing.

[Evans] I think these transfer prints were put on this pitcher and pitchers like it in order to make it more saleable in the United States. It was playing to the consumer.

[Narrator] Over more than two centuries, this artifact has traveled an extraordinary path. From an English factory to deep within a ship's hull as it crossed the ocean, to an American pub or restaurant, to a place of honor in an Iowa home, and finally to the care and protection of a museum.

All the while, it has served the American people and the nation itself.

[Evans] It is important to the nation's history because it is a common everyday object that at the same time signifies very important events. Every time this pitcher was used, people would be reminded of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington. It was made to be a remembrance.

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