Dish

This brown and white transfer-printed earthenware dish made by the Staffordshire firm of Job & John Jackson features a view of the Iron Works in Saugerties, New York on the Hudson River. Entrepreneur Henry Barclay (n.d.) acquired the property for his firm, Barclay's Iron Works, in 1825. However, he soon exhausted his funds in the course of building two plants for the manufacture of iron and paper. Another group of investors took over the facility in 1827, renaming it the Ulster Iron Company. It remained in business for over fifty years. Jackson's view of the one-storey iron works, paper mill and observation tower situated on the banks of the Hudson was based on a drawing by Irish artist William Guy Wall (1792–after 1863) reproduced as an engraving by Fenner, Sears & Co. in John Howard Hinton's "The History and Topography of the United States of North America" (London, 1830 and 1832). Jackson included the view in its "American Scenery" series consisting of approximately thirty-two American views manufactured for the United States export market with a border of floral bouquets and blossoms, C-scrolls and an outer beaded band. The American Wing's collection contains additional pieces by Jackson from the same series, as well as original works by Wall. Refer to the Dictionary for a definition of the term "transfer-printing" and for information about Jackson.