Plate
This pink and white transfer-printed earthenware plate made by the Staffordshire firm of William Adams & Sons features a view of the Catskill Mountain House, also known as the Pine Orchard House, which was an historic inn located about twelve miles southwest of Catskill, New York. Commissioned by a group of businessmen incorporated as the Catskill Mountain Association in 1823, the inn was constructed from 1823 to 1824 by two local craftsmen, Wells Finch and Samuel Chichester. World-renowned for its dramatic setting on Pine Orchard Plateau over two thousand feet above the Hudson River, the inn was the first successful mountain resort in America. Adams based its view of the inn on a work by American landscape painter Thomas Cole (1801–1848) reproduced by Fenner, Sears & Co. as an engraving titled "View of the Cattskill [sic] Mountain House, N.Y." in John Howard Hinton's "The History and Topography of the United States of North America (London, 1830 and 1832). Adams varied Cole's composition by adding a pool of water and a group of figures in the foreground. In addition to pink and white, Adams also printed the view in black and white on a variety of table forms. Adaptations of Cole's composition also embellish pieces by other makers, including a plate, 14.102.245, by Job & John Jackson (1831–1835) and a plate, 14.102.43, by Enoch Wood & Sons (1818–1846). Adams included its version of the view in a series of approximately fourteen American views based on Hinton's "Topography" with standard borders of flowers and fan-shaped medallions produced at the Greenfield Works in Tunstall, England for export to the United States. The American Wing's collection contains additional pieces by Adams, including others from the same series. It also contains original works by Cole. Refer to the Dictionary for a definition of the term "transfer printing" and for information about the above-mentioned firms.
Artwork Details
- Title: Plate
- Maker: William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
- Date: ca. 1834–ca. 1864
- Geography: Made in Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, England
- Culture: British (American market)
- Medium: Earthenware, transfer-printed
- Dimensions: Diam. 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm)
- Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Mandeville Johnston, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. S. Johnston, 1914
- Object Number: 14.102.279
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
ca. 1830–ca. 1840
William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
19th century
William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
ca. 1830–ca. 1864
William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
ca. 1830–ca. 1864
William Adams & Sons (British, active ca. 1819–present)
ca. 1830–ca. 1840
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