Lot 233: 2 Springfield TN Whiskey Jugs, Pitt and DeBerry/Couts

Two (2) Robertson County, Middle Tennessee whiskey jugs. 1st item: 2-gallon Pitt Brothers, stoneware pottery advertising whiskey jug with an Albany slip glaze inscribed “Pitt Bros./ Distillers & Liquor Dealers / Springfield T -” 10 3/4 in. H x 7 1/2 in. D. Late 19th century. 2nd item:  2-gallon stoneware advertising whiskey jug with an Albany slip glaze inscribed “DeBerry & Couts / Distillers & Liquor Dealers / Springfield T. Approximate dimensions: 8 1/2 in. H x 5 1/2 in. D. Late 19th century. Note: Early Robertson County settler Arthur Pitt established a small still on his property in the early 1790s. Over the next several decades, Pitts’ sons continued the operation and developed the distillery into a prosperous business. As the whiskey industry soared in the mid-19th century, competition increased. Charles Nelson’s distillery in Greenbrier became Pitts’ largest competitor, producing over eight thousand barrels of whiskey per year. Business began to decline in the 1880s as tobacco surpassed whiskey in production, and anti-whiskey pressure rose from temperance groups. Prohibition stopped the production of whiskey altogether in 1909, and the company never recovered. Several extant buildings of the Pitt Distillery are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (Source: The Tennessee Encyclopedia).

PROVENANCE: The collection of Mr. and Mrs. David Allen, Springfield, Tennessee.

CONDITION: 1st item:  Overall good condition. Chips below the outer rim edge below handle on the front and back. 2nd item: Possible petroleum traces to interior.