These little ceramic sherds pack a big attitude! These pieces of black transfer-printed whiteware come from a site on Gibson Island near the Magothy River. The wing design and text are part of the makers mark for Homer Laughlin China Co. of East Liverpool, Ohio, which dates the vessel to between 1877 and 1890, the early years of the American whiteware industry.

The full makers mark depicts the American Eagle attacking the British Lion, in what was surely a political dig about the rise of the American pottery industry in a market dominated by British wares.

Homer Laughlin China Co. formed in 1877 and is still operating today. They are perhaps best known for their Fiestaware line of brightly colored dinnerware.

Relevant source: Debolt’s Dictionary of American Pottery Marks (1994)