Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Pitcher, "EBH" with Ship
1800-1825
Herculaneum Pottery (possibly)
England: Liverpool
Creamware printed in black and painted in enamels
overall: 11 1/2 in x 7 in x 10 1/4 in
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.1567

Transfer-printed Masonic creamware pitcher; one side shows print of ship with painted telltale, flag, masts, hull, and bowsprit; floral swag above; below handle are square and compasses with "G" and delta in center and ribbon above; below spout are printed initials "EBH" [Ebenezer Hatch] within floral oval border; below is printed eagle with wings spread and thirteen stars above head and two beside; on other side is printed image of Masonic symbols: checkered floor with J & B Columns to left and right along with plant sprigs; between columns are three candlestands, coffin, star with inset "G", keys, acacia, rooster, beehive, open Bible with overlaid square and compasses, plumb, level, crossed quills, "Memento Mori" banner, 47th Problem of Euclid, sun, moon, and Hope, Faith, and Charity female figures; floral swag at top of image; sticker "3" on side, and sticker "1707" on bottom.

Captain Ebenezer Hatch (1767-1818) owned this English transfer-print decorated pitcher. Hatch, from Gorham, Maine, worked as a master mariner and was raised a Mason in January 1802 at Mount Lebanon Lodge in Boston. As a ship’s captain traveling to British trading centers, Hatch was well positioned to choose a pitcher he liked and to have it personalized with his own initials. During the time Hatch worked as a captain, Liverpool, where this pitcher was likely made, was a busy and important port—in Britain, second only to London as well as the home to ceramics manufacturers and decorators. The jug bears several popular transfer prints; swags of flowers, an American eagle, a square and compasses with the letter G, a decorative surround for his hand-painted initials, an image of a ship and a design comprised of different Masonic symbols, likely adapted from a Masonic membership certificate. For further information, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection", 2013, p. 130-131.