The initials ET in gold under the spout of this jug are those of Edward Tilghman (1750–1815), a prominent lawyer in Philadelphia. One of a pair, the jug was given to Tilghman by his uncle Benjamin Chew Wilcocks, active in business in Canton. Wilcocks originally ordered four jugs similarly decorated with portrait busts of George Washington in grisaille. In addition to Tilghman's pair, he had one inscribed with his own initials, BCW, and the fourth with the cipher CI, presumably his friend Charles Ingersoll. The portrait of Washington was faithfully copied from an engraving by David Edwin (1776–1841), who was working in Philadelphia.

Open full-size image