Why did men used to need a dowry bribe to marry? Fortunately, these enlightened days offer men an alternative prenuptial pageant. And women get bridal showers, so goods are still exchanged.
In the early 19th century a working class bride might instead expect to receive an “outset,” a collection of useful items given by her parents on occasion of her marriage. People needed many things to start up a household. Silverware. Bedding. Furniture. And pottery. Especially inexpensive redware slip trailed with moralistic adages.
Chamber pots were a common gift. Various kinds of dishes were another. These were occasions when the parent (or the potter) could have some fun. “When this you see remember me…” Or offer words of advice. “Give drink to the thirsty.” Or instruct in proper living. “Visit the sick.” Sgraffito potters also got in on the act with whole sentences scrawled around plate rims. “Eating is for existence and life, drinking is also good besides.” Words to live by.
But one wonders at some sayings trailed onto outset gift plates. Take, for example, the bacon plate shown below. “Hard times in Jersey.” The two most likely makers of this plate were either Henry Van Saun who ran a “Pottery Bake Shoppe” near New Milford, NJ from 1811 to 1829, or George Wolfkiel who bought the old Van Saun shop in 1847 and ran it until 1867. Wolfkiel is believed to have made a set of dishes for the wedding of a certain Mrs. Zabriskie in nearby Ramsey. It’s possible that this plate was part of her outset.
You can see this bacon plate today at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford CT. But what was the message to young Mrs. Zabriskie on the occasion? Good luck? Oh well? Told you so?
Readings:
The Reshaping of Everyday Life. John Worrel. Harper Perennial/New York. 1989.
Kitchen Ceramics. Selsin, Rozensztroch, and Cliff. Abbeville Press/New York. 1997.
This Day in Pottery History 