Old Sleepy Eye pitcher 8 3/4 inches tall...not a Repro

Description

A stoneware pitcher which is 8 inches tall to the tip of the spout. It is in good condition with a small amount of crazing and a hairline crack at the lip of the pitcher. There is also a chip on the base which is visible primarily from the bottom.  It is not marked. This pottery is commonly called "Old Sleepy Eye", produced at Monmouth, Illinois' Western, Stoneware Company in Monmouth, Illinois. These items and many others were produced in great quantities from Illinois m
ined clay from the 1890's to 1937. Some pottery items were marked but many more were not.
The Sleepy Eye Flour Mill in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, was founded there in the 188O's and operated until 1921. As the story goes, "Old Sleepy Eye", the Indian, was taken as a trademark by the milling company and they ordered the pottery to be placed in their flour sacks. "Old Sleepy Eye" (or Ishtahumba, which means eyelids drooping) as was his real name,
was a Chief of the Lower Sisseton Sioux and was born near the present site of Mankato, Minnesota..
This pottery does not suggest quality and much is found chipped or cracked. Crazing and discoloration are common. It works well with an Early American decorating theme and is in demand as there are few pieces remaining.