Mary Chase Perry Stratton at Cranbrook, 1916. Mrs. Stratton founded Pewabic Pottery in 1903.
Courtesy of Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI and Copyright Cranbrook Archives

The Wealth of a Nation
Starting in the 1820s, potteries sprouted up through the southern United States. Free of British interference, and charged with the entrepreneurial spirit that was affecting all manner of business and commercial life, it was as though the rich soil of the region was giving birth to an industry. In the decades leading to the Civil War the potteries were plantation-run, so there was a steady source of slave labor to meet the labor needs.

From the Carolinas and Georgia, all the way to Texas, family-run potteries began supplying objects large and small to families and businesses. Clay pots were still the storage devices of choice, and improved manufacturing techniques assured that the alkaline-glazed pots and jugs could stand up to the demands placed on them.

Perhaps best known of the many potteries was the Edgefield (South Carolina) pottery. Several generations and branches of the Landrum family were in the business.

Unrecognized at the time were the slave workers and their remarkable achievements. One in particular, known to history variously as “Dave the Slave Potter,” or David Drake (having adopted his master’s surname), was the first African-American to sign his ceramics. In addition to Dave’s proficiency and prolific output, estimated at some 40,000 pieces, they are often staggeringly huge. His smaller, 10-gallon pitchers would require moving 50 to 60 pounds of wet clay on and off his potter’s wheel. Many of his other pieces, were four times the size.

They also are unique and best remembered for his original commentaries inscribed on them. Slaves were prohibited from learning how to read or write, and he risked his life on a daily basis to incise sociopolitical verses like, “I wonder where is all my relations / Friendship to all in every nation.”

Pewabic bowls made at Pewabic Pottery. Courtesy of Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI

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