STAMPED "H.C. SMITH / ALEXA / D.C", ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA DECORATED STONEWARE LARGE PITCHER, salt-glazed, "3" gallon capacity mark, ovoid form with incised ring below rim and applied strap handle with medial groove and thumb-pressed lower terminal, beaded foot. Beautiful bold brushed cobalt "Alexandria Motif" floral decoration flanked by two vertical foliate ornaments to front, six vertical foliate ornaments to shoulder, swag decoration below rim and spout, additional cobalt to handle terminals. Made for Hugh Charles Smith (1804-1854), Wilkes Street pottery, Alexandria, VA. 1847-1850. 14 7/8" H, 5" D rim, 7 3/8" D base.
Published: Hunter (ed.) - Ceramics in America 2013, "'Stone-ware of excellent quality, Alexandria manufacture' Part II: The Pottery of B.C. Milburn", by Barbara Magid, p. 90, fig. 16. Wilder - Alexandria, Virginia Pottery, 1792-1876, p. 132, figs. HCS008 and HCS008a.
Literature: Wilder - Alexandria, Virginia Pottery, 1792-1876, stamp as p. 320, fig. Mk VI.
Catalogue Note: Hugh Charles Smith, eldest son of Hugh Smith (1769-1856), partnered with his father in the management of the Wilkes Street pottery beginning in 1825. Hugh Charles, like his father, was a merchant and not a potter by trade. The stoneware vessels produced under their administration were made by numerous potters and decorators, both African American and white, hired throughout the 16-years the family owned the pottery. In 1833, Hugh Charles returned full time to the merchant business. At this time, the senior Smith officially leased the Wilkes Street pottery to potter and employee B.C. Milburn and by 1841, had sold the business to Milburn. Hugh Charles passed away at the young age of 50 in 1854.

Excellent, undamaged condition.