John H. Folks Loogootee, Indiana, "An Old Settler" Stoneware Frog Mug

Circa 1880s

Before relocating to Loogootee, Indiana, and beginning work there as a potter in 1878, John H. Folks had spent time working for master Midwestern potters Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick in Anna, Illinois. The Kirkpatrick brothers were known for their whimsical stoneware masterpieces which included railroad pig flasks, grotesque snake jugs, figural door stops, dollheads, shoo fly jugs, frog mugs, and a host of other imaginative political and satirical whimsies.

It is obvious that Folks gleaned much from the Kirkpatricks and brought this knowledge with him to Loogootee. In fact, Folks's frog mugs are often mistaken for those made in Anna, Illinois. Collectors of Indiana stoneware are especially fond of Loogootee lion dorstops and the humorous Loogootee frog mugs. This particular example measures 2 3/4" tall and 4" wide to the end of the handle and is impressed with the saying "an old settler," an obvious humorous reference to the frog "settled" at the bottom of the mug. This is a wonderful piece of stoneware thrown by one of Indiana's most highly skilled and respected potters.