This is perhaps a unique circa early 1890s three-handled stoneware presentation mug, decorated on three sides in cobalt script, reading “Founders Town D.B. Birney June XXV July XV,” “Kup Klub W.C. Watson 1890 1892,” and “For Jim W.F. Donaldson E.F. Davis Jamestown.” The mug is also decorated on the exterior with a Bristol slip glaze, while the interior is decorated in a brown slip glaze; Bristol slip combined with this type of interior glaze was produced at the Thomas Haig Jr. (1811-1893) Pottery and the Richard C. Remmey & Son Pottery in Philadelphia in the late 1800s, among other American stoneware manufacturers.
Furthermore, Birney, Donaldson, Watson and Davis were all successful men in Philadelphia, who vacationed in Jamestown, Rhode Island; they formed the Jamestown Club on June 21, 1890. It was a men’s social club that later merged with the Conanicut Yacht Club in Jamestown in the early twentieth century. This mug was likely a commissioned piece made at one of the Philadelphia stoneware businesses in the early 1890s and is perhaps a unique object today; the style of the exterior and interior glaze closely matches some objects produced at the Thomas Haig Jr. Pottery. There is also some similarities to the idea of this mug's creation when compared to stoneware mugs made at Yale University during the same period, although I feel this object is much more significant, based on the aesthetic and historical appeal, including the possible potter's business it may have been manufactured at in the late 1800s.
According to the Jamestown Historical Society, "In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, summer visitors to Jamestown often founded private clubs at which to meet and socialize, where the only remaining private club from that era today is the Conanicut Yacht Club.
In the summer of 1891, a group of Jamestown summer residents – most of whom came from the Philadelphia area – met to discuss a yacht club for Jamestown and, in October 1892, the state of Rhode Island issued a Certificate of Incorporation to the Conanicut Yacht Club.The following spring, a covered pier was erected on land purchased by the club on the east side of Conanicus Avenue at the end of Brook Street. The first clubhouse, built partially over the water on pilings, opened in 1894. By 1900, 122 member families paid annual dues of $5 each. The roster of members of the Conanicut Yacht Club also listed most of the members in the Jamestown Club, a men’s only social club, and in 1916 the two organizations merged."
For a brief history about the men named on this mug:
Dr. David Bell Birney II (1862-1906) died in Philadelphia; he was the son of David Bell Birney (1825-1864), who was born in Huntsville Alabama, son of abolitionist James G Birney. The Birney family moved to Kentucky in 1833 and freed their slaves, then moved to Cincinnati, Michigan, and finally Philadelphia. Birney graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1856. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Birney benefitted from his political connections and served different leadership roles in the Union Army. Unrelated to the war, Birney's health began to deteriorate in the summer of 1864, and he died on October 18th of that year.
William Francis Donaldson (1838-1914) died in Philadelphia; he was the son of William and Maria Frances (Redfearn) Donaldson, whereas the elder William was a miner for a number of years in Middleton-in-Teesdale, Durham, England, but learning of the discovery of anthracite in Pennsylvania, he emigrated to the United States in 1830. As a result of his father's success in the mining industry in America, W.F. Donaldson received an excellent education, and upon completion of his studies, he directed his attention to the same line of work as his father. In 1862, he formed a partnership with his brother, under the title of J. & W.F. Donaldson.
William C. Watson (1840-1906) died in Philadelphia; he seems to have been an engineer or contractor of some sort, where he was involved for a few years in an ongoing court battle that he filed against the City of Philadelphia. According to to the original lawsuit, "In April, 1888, after due advertisement, the city of Philadelphia accepted the bid of, and awarded the contract to William C. Watson, to furnish and deliver to the bureau of water, of the department of public works, all clay required to finish the northeast section of the East Park Reservoir; and the contract so awarded was duly executed on the thirteenth day of July, 1888, some work having been done prior to the execution of the contract, the date of execution having been delayed pending entry of security by Watson."
Edward F. Davis – there were multiple men with this name living in Philadelphia during this period, including a successful businessman, another man who was a medical doctor and another who worked for the Pennsylvania treasury.
Note: Wealthy people from the Philadelphia area vacationing in parts of coastal New England was a thing-to-do in the 1890s and early 1900s; for instance, Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania owned a vacation home in York, Maine; see a feature story I wrote for the August 23, 2024 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Tiles Made At The Moravian Tile Works In Doylestown, Pa., That Adorn Fireplace Surrounds In York, Maine: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/08/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques_23.html.
A 19th Century Stoneware Presentation Mug Possibly from Philadelphia
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