Dave Drake: An Important Stoneware Potter, Artist and Poet from Edgefield, South Carolina

A few weeks ago, I wrote a short story about how I first became interested in early-American-made utilitarian pottery. I did not realize it at the time, but my passion really began in the summer of 1999 when my father brought home an early-black-glazed red earthenware jug from a local flea market that I believe was made in Essex County, Massachusetts in the late-eighteenth century. 

Nevertheless, I was a regular collector and researcher by 2006 with an interest in locally produced red earthenware at businesses such as the William Pecker Pottery in Merrimacport, Massachusetts, circa 1790-1820, the Chase Pottery in Merrimacport, circa 1820-1880s and the Bayley Pottery in Rowely, Massachusetts and Newburyport, Massachusetts, circa 1720-1799; although, I was also equally fascinated by the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century industry in Peabody, Massachusetts, circa 1735-1930s.

But it was not only that black jug that piqued my interest; whereas, I was also fascinated with a huge pot that I learned about at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I recall curiously walking through the rooms at the museum when I was introduced to the work of Dave Drake, an African-American slave potter, who made stoneware in the nineteenth century in Edgefield, South Carolina. The jar that I saw that day was huge, but it was also inscribed with a poem that Dave had written, "I made this Jar for cash / though its called lucra trash / Dave."  The jar was also dated "August 22, 1857."

Artist Rendering of Dake Drake

Artist Rendering of Dave "The Potter" Drake

Photo Courtesy: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave - Hill & Collier - Little Brown Books - 2010

The Story of Dave Drake

The history of Dave Drake is compelling: he was born into slavery in 1800 in the Edgefield District in South Carolina; although, he is thought to have been born to the plantation owner, Harry Drake, a religious man, who may have taught some of his slaves to read and write to help with their religious studies. There is also some evidence that suggests Dave may have lost a leg in an accident in his younger years, but I do not have evidence to prove this other than reading about it. 

Dave reportedly learned the potter's trade at a young age from white men of European descent employed where he lived as a slave in South Carolina. His original poems were usually related to the vessel's use, religion or a family member. Examples of Dave's unsigned work are sometimes attributed to him today by either the "Lm" mark or two incised slashes sometimes placed carefully unobtrusively on the pot

I would describe Dave as a master potter, who occasionally threw huge vessels, which were intended to hold gallons of material not regularly found in this size from potter's, who worked elsewhere in America in the nineteenth century. The skill and raw strength it took to throw some of these forms is remarkable; whereas, Dave can even be considered today as the kind of person who's life manifested into folk lore and legend. 

In a historical context, Dave was an educated enslaved potter, who could read and write, but he was also an artist and a poet in a tumultuous period laying witness to America's Civil War and I can only imagine that some of Dave's work must have been destroyed during the war. 

I have heard stories from well-known antique dealers that Dave's production has been found in places like southern backyards, but I have also heard about his pots found in recent years that were used as garden planters and even on porches.

Note: I have also visited the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., where I was also impressed by a few examples of stoneware that were made by Dave, which are owned by the museum today. I have also posted a picture of a second jar that is owned by the MFA in Boston, which interestingly was made only one month after the jar that I originally saw at the museum, "September 22, 1857."

Jar that I Saw at the MFA in Boston

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed and Dated by Dave Drake
Acquired in 1997 from Collector Tony L. Shank - Marion, SC

Circa August 22, 1857

Stands 19" Tall

Measures 17 3/4" Wide

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Another Jar Owned by MFA in Boston

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Signed and Dated by Dave Drake
Circa September 22, 1857

Stands 14" Tall

Measures 15" Wide

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Jars Owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed by Dave Drake
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

19th Century Stoneware Jar Made by Dave Drake in Edgefield, SC
The Jar Has Also Been Inscribed by Dave Drake
Circa 1862
See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

 View of the Inscription
Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

View of the Information on File with the Smithsonian

Photo Courtesy: The National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian - Washington, D.C.

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...