Plate

This pink and white transfer-printed earthenware plate made by the Staffordshire firm of Job & John Jackson features a view of Baltimore, Maryland’s Battle Monument erected in 1815 in memory of thirty-nine fallen war heroes of the Battle of North Point during the War of 1812. The monument was designed by Maximilien Godefroy (1765–?) who came to Baltimore from France in 1805. The actual fifty-two foot high monument consists of a female statue personifying the City of Baltimore atop a single fasces-shaped column on an Egyptian Revival style cenotaph-shaped pedestal with tapered black marble doorways, a cavetto cornice and winged solar discs. The four corners of the pedestal are surmounted by griffins with American eagles' heads symbolizing immortality and the national bird. Jackson's view was based on a drawing by New York artist William Goodacre, Jr. (active 1829–1835) engraved by Fenner, Sears & Co. and reproduced as "Battle Monument, Baltimore" in John Howard Hinton's "The History and Topography of the United States of North America" (London, 1830 and 1832). Jackson varied the engraving by substituting a male for a female figure of Baltimore, eliminating many of the surrounding buildings and moving a group of figures from the sidewalk to the street. Jackson included the view in its series commonly known as “American Scenery" consisting of approximately thirty-two American views produced for the United States export market with a standard 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. Drawings by Goodacre also inspired pieces by other Staffordshire potters, including a platter, 10.57.36, by William Adams & Sons (1819–present). Refer to the Dictionary for a definition of the term "transfer printing" and for information about the firms of Jackson and Adams.