STAMPED "ALEXA", ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA STONEWARE JARS, LOT OF TWO, salt-glazed, each of cylindrical form, comprising an approximately one-gallon capacity "J. SWANN / ALEXA." example with rounded rim and a "2" gallon capacity mark example having two stamps including "E.J. MILLER / ALEXA" and "S.C. MILBURN" with broad squared rim and collared neck. John Blake Swann (1789-aft. 1831), Wilkes Street pottery; Stephen Calvert Milburn (1833-1896), Wilkes Street pottery, Alexandria, VA. 19th century. 11 1/2" HOA, 8" DOA rim.
Catalogue Note: John Blake Swann was born in St. Mary's County, MD in 1789. After the loss of both his parents, Swann was apprenticed to potter Lewis W. Plum when he was 14-years-old. Following the completion of his apprenticeship, Swann founded the Wilkes Street pottery in Alexandria in 1811. The first years of the pottery were a success, however by 1817, America's economy began to wane and by 1819, the young country was in a full recession. Swann's business began to suffer and was in desperate need of a boost. In an ad from August 1819, he states that he had "been enabled lately to make a great improvement in his ware..." It is unknown what exactly he meant by this, but Wilder (Alexandria, Virginia Pottery, 1792-1876) theorizes that he may have started decorating his wares with cobalt at this time. It was also around this year that Swann began marking his pieces. Unfortunately, Swann's attempts to increase sales and dig himself out of debt were unsuccessful, he eventually resorted to selling the pottery to merchant Hugh Smith in 1825. Swann continued to work at the pottery through 1830 under Smith's management but by 1831, it is believed he moved West in search of greater opportunities.
The Milburn stamped example was made at the Wilkes Street pottery after Stephen Calvert Milburn, son of potter Benedict Cuthbert (B.C.) Milburn, began managing the business in 1865. During his tenure, the overwhelming majority of vessels made at the pottery were undecorated due to the cost of cobalt after the Civil War.
B.C. Milburn, Stephen's father, was the third owner of the Wilkes Street pottery located in Alexandria, VA. Born near St. Mary's City, MD, Milburn relocated to Alexandria, VA when he was 17-years-old. Hired by John Swann (the founder of the Wilkes Street pottery) in 1822, the young Milburn began a long, fruitful career in the pottery industry. It is unknown if Milburn maintained employment at Wilkes Street through Hugh Smith's tenure as manager (starting in 1825), however by 1833, documents provide evidence that Benedict officially began leasing the pottery from Hugh Charles Smith (the son of Hugh Smith). Milburn officially purchased the Wilkes Street pottery from Hugh Smith (elder) in 1841. Business flourished under Milburn until the Civil War, when work at the kilns was extinguished. The pottery remained quiet the remainder of the war until 1865, when Milburn's son, Stephen Calvert took up the business. Sadly, Benedict C. Milburn passed away in 1867, at the age of 62. After his death, his sons continued operating the Wilkes Street pottery until 1876, when William Lewis Milburn sold the pottery to the neighboring tannery, permanently closing the door on the Milburn pottery legacy.
Elisha Janney Miller, the second stamp on the jar, was born into an Alexandria, VA merchant family. His grandfather, Mordecai Miller, and father, Robert Hartshorne Miller (1798-1874) were each prosperous importers and wholesalers. Elisha began working with his father in 1856 at his No. 65 King Street establishment and nine years later, he inherited the business after his father's retirement. At this time, Elisha entered into a business partnership with the Milburn family pottery on Wilkes Street. The pottery provided the merchant with assorted stoneware forms including jars, cuspidors/spittoons, jugs, milk pans, and cake crocks until its closing in 1876. Following the closure of the Alexandria pottery, Miller began procuring stoneware from James Hamilton in Greensboro, PA. Vessels featured his business name, address, and sometimes additional advertising information in stenciled cobalt. Elisha J. Miller managed the business until 1895, when he passed away from Bright's disease at the age of 67. The mercantile company continued in the Miller family until sometime before 1917.

Miller/Milburn example having interior imperfections only including a chip to rim interior and two hairlines to interior that do not appear to go through to exterior; Swann example having base detached and glued back in place with only a few minute gaps, otherwise undamaged.

From the estate collection of Leland Nettles, Syria, VA.
Swann example: Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, 6/23/2018, lot 1023.
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, 11/15/2014, lot 54.
Ex-collection of Eddie Wilder, Alexandria, VA.