Spittoon
United States
1850-1875
Measurements
3-1/2 in x 7-1/2 in (dia)
Materials
Mottled brown lead glaze on yellow earthenware (Rockinghamware)
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Patricia Crilley
Accession Number
2025.3
Comments
The body of the spittoon is divided into sixteen panels with eight foliate devices across the tops of two adjoining panels. The slightly flared and molded rim has a decorated band around the top, encircling the concave conical top with a hole in the center. A second hole for cleaning is on one side just below the rim.
Another Rockinghamware spittoon in fragmentary condition was found in the collections and may have been among the many objects assembled by Mrs. Mary Corbit Warner in the late 19th century. Regardless, spittoons, also called cuspidors, were common in the second half of the 19th century, notably used in places where tobacco-smoking people (generally men) congregated and spat.
