Dave the Potter
Download as PPTX, PDF2 likes2,088 views
Dave was born into slavery in 1801 and learned the craft of pottery making at a factory where he was forced to work. He was an exceptionally skilled potter and began signing his pots in 1840, making him one of the first known slave artists. Through his poetry inscribed on pots, he provided insights into his relationships with owners and family life. He gained freedom after the Civil War and took his former owner's surname, Drake, living out his life as a freedman in South Carolina.
![WHERE DID HE LEARN TO READ
AND WRITE?
In 1740, South Carolina banned
teaching slaves how to read and write
"Be it therefore Enacted by the
Authority aforesaid, That all and every
Person and Persons whatsoever, who
shall hereafter teach or cause any Slave
to be taught to write, or shall use or
employ any slave as a Scribe in any
Manner of Writing whatsoever,
hereafter taught to write, every such
offense forfeit the Sum of One
Hundred Pounds current Money."
Left: Philadelphia [ca.1810]: The Uncles
Present by Jacob Johnson, an early children's
alphabet book](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/davethepotter-130110154652-phpapp01/85/Dave-the-Potter-9-320.jpg)
![THEMES
Relationship to master:
Lm says this handle
will crack
June 28, 1854
[Lm = Lewis Miles]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/davethepotter-130110154652-phpapp01/85/Dave-the-Potter-12-320.jpg)
More Related Content
What's hot (12)
Similar to Dave the Potter (20)
Dave the Potter
- 1. DAVE THE POTTER The Story of David Drake
- 2. A SLAVE WHO COULD WRITE & MAKE POTTERY
- 3. 1801: DAVE BORN INTO SLAVERY In 1801, the U.S. Constitution still protected slavery and less than 10% of blacks were free (and most of those in the north) Records say he was country born, which means he was born in the United States (and not Africa) First owner was Harvey Drake in Edgefield, South Carolina Drake and his business partner owned a pottery factory a mile outside of town call Pottersville Dave began working at the pottery while a teenager The pottery made stoneware jugs, pitchers, churns and storage jars
- 5. WHAT HE DID
- 6. FACTORY WORK Today, we think of pottery as an artisinal activity In the 1800s, this was how every vessel was made The Pottersville factory had kilns that measured about 100 feet long and required 10 tons of firewood a day Dave was a forced laborer working in a factory Ceramicists were highly skilled laborers and considered very valuable by slaveholders
- 7. WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT DAVE
- 8. 1834: THE FIRST KNOWN POT put every bit all between surely this Jar will hold 14 12 July 1834
- 9. WHERE DID HE LEARN TO READ AND WRITE? In 1740, South Carolina banned teaching slaves how to read and write "Be it therefore Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all and every Person and Persons whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach or cause any Slave to be taught to write, or shall use or employ any slave as a Scribe in any Manner of Writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such offense forfeit the Sum of One Hundred Pounds current Money." Left: Philadelphia [ca.1810]: The Uncles Present by Jacob Johnson, an early children's alphabet book
- 10. ONE MONTH LATER oh the moon + the stars hard work to make big Jars 22 August 1834
- 11. TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY Daves pots could hold as many as 40 gallons, which meant being able to hold and mold 50 pounds of clay He could have made as many as 40,000 pieces Started signing his name on pieces in January 1840
- 12. THEMES Relationship to master: Lm says this handle will crack June 28, 1854 [Lm = Lewis Miles]
- 13. INTERPRETING THE VERSES Feb. 10, 1840: whats better than Kissing while we both are at fishing Aug: 26, 1840: another trick is worst than this + Dearest miss: spare me a Kiss + How much can we interpret about Daves life from these verses?
- 14. FAMILY LIFE Dave had at least five owners and after Emancipation took his first owners last name When owner Rev. John Landrum died, his 18 slaves were divided by six different buyers. Dave went to Franklin Landrum Another slave at the pottery committed suicide after being whipped by Landrum There are no known writings by Dave during the period when he was owned by Landrum After being sold to Lewis Miles, Dave began writing again: three poems from 1857 have survived, eight from 1858, and seven from 1859 In 1857, he wrote: I wonder where is all my relation / friendship to all and, every nation
- 15. 1859 Good for lard or holding fresh meat, blest we were when peter saw the folded sheet. Signed with LM (for Lewis Miles) and May 3d 1859/Dave. Storage Jar made by David Drake (Dave the Potter), American, 1800 - c. 1870. Made in Edgefield, South Carolina in 1859. Alkaline-glazed stoneware, 26 1/2 x 15 1/2 (67.3 x 39.4 cm.). Philadelphia Museum of Art
- 16. 1862: HIS LAST KNOWN POEM I made this jar all of cross / If you dont repent, you will be lost May 3 1862 LM Dave
- 17. A FREE MAN After the Civil War, Dave takes the name David Drake Thought to live in a kinship community with former slaves in South Carolina Endured Ku Klux Klan attacks, including one night when an old woman was severely beaten David Drake does not appear in the 1880 census; he is thought to have passed away in the 1870s.
- 18. RECOVERING DAVE THE POTTER This is a noble churn/ fill it up it will never turn Dave 1858 Damaged pot offered by Charlton Hall Auctions in South Carolina Sold in 2012 for $130,000
- 19. THEASTER GATES CONTINUES THE CONVERSATION http://www.youtube.com/embed/2QWXC36fHNc?feature=player_detailpage