This plate underscores the informal and communal nature of eating and drinking in early America, particularly among men. Inscribed in the surface beneath the glaze – a technique called sgraffiato – a verse reads:
Hears Luck gifs to all those that Wares Raged Clothes
and has no Wife to mend them
may the dogs get those Wags that has plenty of Joes
and has no heart to spend them
Come hand us a glass
And Round Let it pass.
This plate is similar to other works produced at the Smith Pottery, founded by Joseph Smith in 1763. It was subsequently operated by his nephew, Thomas Smith, who is known to have decorated his wares with verse. This witty plate descended in his family.
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