whom he likened to a dog walking on its hind 

 saying: "It is not done well; but you are surprised 

 to find it done at all." 



On the evidence of the many fragments of York- 

 town mugs found in Williamsburg excavations, it may 

 be supposed that the Challis example was of above- 

 average quality. Many of the Williamsburg sherds 

 are both badly overfired and poorly mottled, owing 

 either to inadequate salting or to the use of a slip of 

 the wrong consistency. The much-restored specimen 

 shown in figure 9 was found in a mid- 18th-century 

 rubbish deposit 73 and apparently had belonged to 

 John Coke, who kept tavern in Williamsburg east of 

 the Public Gaol. In this example, the intended mot- 

 tled effect has become a solid band of purple, and the 

 body color below has turned dark gray. 1 had long 

 supposed that both were the result of overfiring. 

 Experiments by Mr. Maloney, however, clearly 

 showed that the gray body may result from a reducing 

 atmosphere as readily as by excessive temperature, 

 while the purple zone could be due to the slip's being 



" Colonial Williamsburg, 

 140.27A. 



E. R. (Excavation Register] 



Figure 6. — Silver reproduction of the matrix 

 used by the Yorktown potter to apply un- 

 official excise stamps. Height 1.45 centi- 

 meters. 



Figure 7. — Examples of W.R. stamps on Yorktown stoneware mugs. Right, 

 from below the rim; left, on the underside of the base. Enlarged. 



PAPER 54: THE POOR POTTER OF YORKTOWN 



9.") 



