Our Spirited Ancestors: The Decorative Art of Drink
Early Southerners drank a lot — nearly twenty gallons of alcohol each — every year. They drank when they woke up in the morning, as they ate and worked during the day, and when they socialized at night. But how people drank was as important as what they drank. From imported Madeira sipped at mahogany tables to local whisky out of redware jugs, this exhibit explores the decorative arts that defined the early Southern drinker.
This exhibition is on view October 25, 2011 through September 2012 in the G. Wilson Douglas, Jr. Gallery of the Frank L. Horton Museum Center. Admission to Douglas Gallery exhibitions at MESDA is free with a MESDA or Old Salem ticket.
 Peter Manigault and Friends |  Punchbowl |
John Custis' Wine Bottle1713Discovered in Williamsburg, Virginia |
Wine Bottle Seals1710, 1715, 1766Excavated at Fairfield, Glouchester County, Virginia and Brunswick, North Carolina |
Ale BottleSanders Pottery1755Mortlake, England |
Manuscript CookbookEleanor Parks Shelton1735-1745Hanover County, Virginia |
Brandy or Whisky Jugs1820-1850East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia |
Still1820-1830Wythe County, Virginia |
Mug1700-1730Westerwald, Germany |
CannLucas Stoutenburgh1719-1729Charleston, South Carolina |
Covered GobletJohn Frederick Amelung1792Frederick County, Maryland |
Pair of GobletsWilliam Ball1790-1810Baltimore, MarylandOnline Exclusive |
BeakerJeremiah Andrews1790-1810Norfolk, Virginia |
TumblerJ. S. Heald1800-1820Baltimore, Maryland |
BeakerAsa Blanchard1808-1838Lexington, Kentucky |
Whisky Barrel-shaped BeakerAsa Blanchard1808-1838Lexington, Kentucky |
Wine Siphon1775-1800Probably New York |
Wine Funnel1800-1810Probably Charleston, South Carolina |
Bottle Case1755-1775Williamsburg, Virginia |
Bottle Case1760-1780Petersburg, Virginia |
Bottle CaseMicajah Wilkes1790-1800Bertie County, North Carolina |
Sugar Chest1820-1840Adair County, Kentucky |
Sideboard Table1750-1765Charleston, South Carolina |
Sideboard Table1800-1810Lexington, Kentucky |
Mixing TableAnthony Hay Shop1750-1760Williamsburg, Virginia |
PunchbowlJohn Gaitherc,1810Alexandria, Virginia |
Punch LadleDaniel You1740-1750Charleston, South Carolina |
Punch StrainerAlexander Petrie1740-1750Charleston, South Carolina |
