David or Dave Drake (c.1800-1870) was an African American slave in the 19th century who worked in Edgefield, South Carolina as a potter.
He created large jugs, churns and pitchers with remarkable glazes. He was one of the first African Americans to sign his ceramics and is famous for inscribing some of his large pots with rhyming short verses. It is thought that he learned to read and write while working at the Edgefield Hive. His great and noble jars testify to his skill; his poems testify to his passion and spirit.
David Drake, Food Storage Jar “Made for John Monday”, 1857, Courtesy of McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina
South Carolina potter, Mark Hewitt, talks about David Drake.
