In March 1872, Hyrum Wilson (1836–1884), James Wilson (1847–1917), and Wallace Wilson (born c. 1845) opened a pottery in rural Guadalupe County, Texas. The Wilsons, who were not related, took their name from the Reverend John M. Wilson, who brought them to Texas as slaves in the 1830s. They learned their craft in the nearby pottery established in 1857 by their owner. The utilitarian products of the J. M. Wilson firm were made using alkaline glazes in a tradition transferred to Texas from South Carolina (see B.82.2). The new firm, named H. Wilson & Company, continued to use the same shapes but predominately used salt glazes. The successful African-American enterprise prospered and continued under Hiram Wilson’s ownership until his death in 1884 when the company was dissolved.

Related examples: A similar four gallon marked example in Steinfeldt and Stover 1973, pp. 200–201, no. 275.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.