Circa 1875: West Virginia stoneware collectors love their local merchant jugs, and this 14.5" tall two gallon stencil decorated jug made for "Louis P Frobe / Wines and Liquors / 1041 Market St / Wheeling W VA" is in excellent condition with one small flake on the top rim of the spout and no other chips, cracks, or repairs. It's difficult to ascertain whether this jug was potted in Palatine, West Virginia or Southwestern Pennsylvania, but it has a nice thickly applied dark blue stencil and a beautiful glaze, making it a terriffic example of the wares produced for over 100 different merchants in Wheeling in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Bob Zordani and Heidi Kellner: (217) 714-5016, Lexington, Virginia: zandk@zandkantiques.com
