Edgefield District 'Dave' storage jar circa 1856 outswept wide rim on bulbous body flanked by handles, inscribed: March 7, 1856, LM and double slash. (Very good original condition) H14 1/2" *Provenance: From the personal collection of the late antiques dealer Alfred "Al" Herbert of Bamberg, South Carolina. *Note: David Drake was an African-American born into slavery in South Carolina around 1780. He worked at his master's newspaper "The Pottersville Hive" as a typesetter before becoming a potter. While owned by Lewis Miles at Stoney Bluff Plantation in Edgefield, Dave became a master craftsman able to produce some of the largest one-man pots ever made. During a time when literacy among slaves was outlawed in the South, Dave defiantly signed and dated many of his pieces, and in some instances inscribed rhymed verses/poems. During his lifetime Dave was bought, sold and traded between five different families. He died three years after being freed in 1863.