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Chicken waterer a big crock
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Collecting antique crockery or stoneware is quite popular these days. These pieces are generally utilitarian, and were often used for food storage in the early years of the U.S., before glass jugs and jars became prevelant.
Sometimes an antique crock has the maker's symbol, or logo, painted in blue on the side of the piece. Others are marked on the bottom. There were several types of glazes and different motifs used for decoration. Red Wing, for example, had a single bird wing painted in blue on the side of most of its pieces.
Today we are going to look at something that is called a chicken waterer. This example is of a very large piece made sometime between 1901 and 1920. This time period was determined by researching the history of the Ransbottom Brothers Pottery, which started production in 1901 and then became Robinson-Ransbottom Pottery sometime in 1920.
The markings on this piece are interesting, because they serve as an advertisement for the company, including its location in Roseville, Ohio. Please note that in this case Roseville is merely the location of the Ransbottom Brothers Pottery; Roseville Pottery is a different company entirely.
It's definitely worth crossing the road to pick up a piece of Americana such as this. We are lucky here in Ohio to have had such a rich history of pottery manufacture. Now, as to where you will put such a big hunk of baked clay in your home is something this writer cannot help you with. Maybe the cat or dog would like to drink out of it? It would also make a nice conversation piece for a screened in porch. And of course it would come in handy if you happened to have a few chickens of your own running around.
