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Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave
He is known today, as he was then, only as Dave. His pots and storage jars were everyday items, but because of their beauty and massive size, and because Dave signed and inscribed many with poems, they now fetch six figures at auction. We know of no other slave artist who dared to put his name on his work, a dangerous advertisement of literacy.
Fascinated by the man and by this troubling family history, Leonard Todd moved from Manhattan to Edgefield, South Carolina, where his ancestors had established a thriving pottery industry in the early 1800s. Todd studied each of Dave's poems for biographical clues, which he pieced together with local records and family letters to create this moving and dramatic chronicle of Dave's life—a story of creative triumph in the midst of slavery. Many of Dave's astounding jars are found now in America's finest museums.
Fascinated by the man and by this troubling family history, Leonard Todd moved from Manhattan to Edgefield, South Carolina, where his ancestors had established a thriving pottery industry in the early 1800s. Todd studied each of Dave's poems for biographical clues, which he pieced together with local records and family letters to create this moving and dramatic chronicle of Dave's life—a story of creative triumph in the midst of slavery. Many of Dave's astounding jars are found now in America's finest museums.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 1, 2020
I have a lot of thoughts about this book.
First of all, I am a ceramic artist and I teach pottery and I felt that the descriptions of pottery techniques, glazes, and kilns was handled very well. I was impressed because not all people who write about pottery are able to communicate to both a general audience and to knowledgeable potters.
I also thought that the book was well-written and an interesting read. In fact, I'm really glad I read the book and would definitely recommend it to pretty much anyone.
However, I also felt unsettled a bit by the author's voice at some times and I think it is worth thinking about if you read or are considering reading the book.
Dave is a worthy subject and the author does a nice job of compensating for the missing information in Dave's history. There are gaps and simply too much missing information to do other that guess at some fundamental features of the man's life. The author fills these in with quotes from contemporaries and from a wide range of sources. I am a big fan of this approach as we were able to hear the voices of former slaves and former slave owners and their families as well as the minimal words that come down to us from Dave directly.
The author also made it clear when he was inventing, guessing, or filling-in information. So as the reader, I could decide to go along with the author's inferences for the sake of the story or step back and remain skeptical. For the most part I was happy to go along.
However, several times early on in the book and at one particular point near the end, I felt jarred and unnerved by the author's voice. He seemed happy to assume that relationships between slaves and slaveholders were pleasant when there was not specific evidence to the contrary or where there was some evidence that they got along. We're reading about people held against their will, under constant threat, and forced to tolerate intolerable conditions as a matter of course. Sure, there were moments when they weren't actively being physically injured and moments when people laughed and rested, but I feel like white readers, in particular (I am one), need to constantly remember that none of this was ever ok. When the author describes one of the slaveholders as a fundamentally "good person" I just about gagged. He's good except for OWNING PEOPLE.
Near the end he visits a meeting of the daughters and sons of the confederacy and feels honored to be applauded because of his family connection to slaveholders, confederates, and redshirts (people literally fighting to keep blacks from voting after reconstruction).
In short, I felt the author was a very good writer and the topic both engaging and well-handled, but I also wonder at the kind of southern style of suggesting that slavery wasn't that bad.
Anyway, excellent book. Definitely read it, but if given the opportunity to hang out with the author or the subject, there's no question I'd prefer the latter.
First of all, I am a ceramic artist and I teach pottery and I felt that the descriptions of pottery techniques, glazes, and kilns was handled very well. I was impressed because not all people who write about pottery are able to communicate to both a general audience and to knowledgeable potters.
I also thought that the book was well-written and an interesting read. In fact, I'm really glad I read the book and would definitely recommend it to pretty much anyone.
However, I also felt unsettled a bit by the author's voice at some times and I think it is worth thinking about if you read or are considering reading the book.
Dave is a worthy subject and the author does a nice job of compensating for the missing information in Dave's history. There are gaps and simply too much missing information to do other that guess at some fundamental features of the man's life. The author fills these in with quotes from contemporaries and from a wide range of sources. I am a big fan of this approach as we were able to hear the voices of former slaves and former slave owners and their families as well as the minimal words that come down to us from Dave directly.
The author also made it clear when he was inventing, guessing, or filling-in information. So as the reader, I could decide to go along with the author's inferences for the sake of the story or step back and remain skeptical. For the most part I was happy to go along.
However, several times early on in the book and at one particular point near the end, I felt jarred and unnerved by the author's voice. He seemed happy to assume that relationships between slaves and slaveholders were pleasant when there was not specific evidence to the contrary or where there was some evidence that they got along. We're reading about people held against their will, under constant threat, and forced to tolerate intolerable conditions as a matter of course. Sure, there were moments when they weren't actively being physically injured and moments when people laughed and rested, but I feel like white readers, in particular (I am one), need to constantly remember that none of this was ever ok. When the author describes one of the slaveholders as a fundamentally "good person" I just about gagged. He's good except for OWNING PEOPLE.
Near the end he visits a meeting of the daughters and sons of the confederacy and feels honored to be applauded because of his family connection to slaveholders, confederates, and redshirts (people literally fighting to keep blacks from voting after reconstruction).
In short, I felt the author was a very good writer and the topic both engaging and well-handled, but I also wonder at the kind of southern style of suggesting that slavery wasn't that bad.
Anyway, excellent book. Definitely read it, but if given the opportunity to hang out with the author or the subject, there's no question I'd prefer the latter.
February 27, 2021
I came of age in South Carolina in the 1980s, and continue to be humbled and astounded by the many stories in my neck of the woods which never made it into the history books, much less into the collective cultural consciousness. This is a beautiful and captivating biography (and largely imagined narrative) of the life of Dave, a slave potter, whose craftsmanship and creative power is now only being appreciated. Todd is a gifted writer. There’s a perfect balance here between broad historical information and what is specifically known about Dave. Even though this was published in 2008, I found reading the section on Reconstruction (and attacks on democracy) in 2021 to be eerily familiar. History may not repeat, but it certainly rhymes. More importantly, this is a terrific tribute to an important and largely forgotten artist.
February 4, 2010
I absolutely loved this book. Even if you don't love antiques or pottery, this book gives you an incredible look at one man's live as a slave in South Carolina. Dave was owned by the author's ancestors. He did exhaustive research into Dave's life in Edgefield, SC. Todd's ancestors had built a thriving pottery industry and Dave was their best potter. Dave not only dared to put his name on the pots, but inscribed them with poems as well. Dave's pots are now worth hundreds of thousands and are in some of the finest museums in the country.
October 20, 2023
This was fascinating. I heard of it through a children's book my kids had gotten from the library, and was very curious to know more about Dave. The author takes us on a journey in rich, but very complicated, often dark, history, not only of Dave and pottery, but of S. Carolina politics and the complicated interactions of its people, both black and white, enslaved or free.
Todd shares his known personal history with the story, realizing that earlier generations of his family were actually the slave owners of Dave. He seems to do a fairly reasonable job of being honest about that history, but even he admits that of course he is biased and WANTS to believe the best about how the enslaved were treated on his family's plantations, but that doesn't mean that was the case. In one instance in particular, when noting that there was a known child produced from a white family member and an enslaved woman, while he acknowledges various possible reasons for this, including the possibility of an actual attraction and relationship between both parties, or coercion, he never does venture all the way and suggest it could have Ben outright rape. Later when he summarizes the complicated history, he uses "slept with" but never "possibly raped" in his list of interactions. It's an understandable omission, but I don't think an entirely honest one.
But otherwise, he takes great care in his research, including a plethora of primary source documents and personal interviews. It was very interesting to read and fascinating history. I'd certainly recommend it to everyone's "to read" list.
Todd shares his known personal history with the story, realizing that earlier generations of his family were actually the slave owners of Dave. He seems to do a fairly reasonable job of being honest about that history, but even he admits that of course he is biased and WANTS to believe the best about how the enslaved were treated on his family's plantations, but that doesn't mean that was the case. In one instance in particular, when noting that there was a known child produced from a white family member and an enslaved woman, while he acknowledges various possible reasons for this, including the possibility of an actual attraction and relationship between both parties, or coercion, he never does venture all the way and suggest it could have Ben outright rape. Later when he summarizes the complicated history, he uses "slept with" but never "possibly raped" in his list of interactions. It's an understandable omission, but I don't think an entirely honest one.
But otherwise, he takes great care in his research, including a plethora of primary source documents and personal interviews. It was very interesting to read and fascinating history. I'd certainly recommend it to everyone's "to read" list.
November 11, 2019
As a ceramic artist with ties to South Carolina, I really enjoyed this book and the ceramic history it offers. Research on the Slave Potter named Dave is slim, and this author does a nice job of explaining what is fact versus what is speculation regarding Dave and the communities he worked and lived in. I came away from this book with a better understanding of the South’s ceramic history, and the particular role that the Edgefield Pottery District played. This book also offers great perspective on Civil War history. I’m not sure I would recommend this book to general readers, but for those with an interest in ceramic and Civil War history, it’s perfect.
December 4, 2024
I'm mixed on this one: the research is amazing, and Todd really digs out a lot of great detail about Dave, the potter. But, as Todd admits, he truly wishes he could vindicate his family ancestors as "good slave owners," and it infects the narrative at times. He tries to be respectful, but is also sometimes quite hierarchical in discussing current-day Edgefield and its racial dynamics. Worth a read, but I dearly wish it were written by a professional historian with solid training in Black history methods.
June 15, 2017
A little dry but an amazingly detailed examination of what was to be discovered about David Drake, his owners and the world of Edgefield. In addition the author describes so much history of the period.
September 16, 2020
A pleasant and clear account of Dave Drake, well known slave potter in South Carolina. The author is also interested in his ancestors, so the book pays attention to them too. I was looking for details about daily life, and I found some, so I was satisfied
April 19, 2025
As a Black African American potter, I was anxious to learn more of Dave’s history. However, I couldn’t stomach the Author’s slaver owner perspective of Dave’s life. Put it down after chapter 4 and will return to Amazon.
April 10, 2022
As someone who has been enjoying the art of pottery for the last several years, this was an incredibly interesting book and one I think every ceramic artist should read. The author, a descendant of the men who owned Dave, does extensive research into his ancestry and attempts to put together the puzzling pieces of Dave’s life. It’s unfortunate there isn’t more factual information but I appreciate what the author did to fill in the gaps. Dave was incredibly talented and I was continuously impressed at each new pot or jug that was discovered…like I can only imagine turning pots that big!!!!
My only qualms with the book are the sections not devoted to Dave, but on the author's personal experiences in Edgefield. Like I truly do not care at all that you were invited to an event sponsored by the local chapter of the Sons of the Confederacy!!! I do not care that you got to see a real red shirt and feel it’s ~power~ and reflect how outstanding your red shirt ancestors were!!! Why are you wasting paper on this! Not cool, Leonard!
Anyways, an overall educational book that I learned quite a bit from and I’m glad to have read it.
But on those occasions when he chose to write “Dave” in the damp clay, it was almost as though he were imprinting the jar with his soul. Sojourner Truth’s affirmation was, Ain’t I a woman? Dave’s was, I made this jar. On July 31, 1840, Dave wrote this poem:
Dave belongs to Mr Miles /
wher the oven bakes & the pot biles ///
My only qualms with the book are the sections not devoted to Dave, but on the author's personal experiences in Edgefield. Like I truly do not care at all that you were invited to an event sponsored by the local chapter of the Sons of the Confederacy!!! I do not care that you got to see a real red shirt and feel it’s ~power~ and reflect how outstanding your red shirt ancestors were!!! Why are you wasting paper on this! Not cool, Leonard!
Anyways, an overall educational book that I learned quite a bit from and I’m glad to have read it.
But on those occasions when he chose to write “Dave” in the damp clay, it was almost as though he were imprinting the jar with his soul. Sojourner Truth’s affirmation was, Ain’t I a woman? Dave’s was, I made this jar. On July 31, 1840, Dave wrote this poem:
Dave belongs to Mr Miles /
wher the oven bakes & the pot biles ///
Read
February 19, 2010Perhaps you know of Dave from having seen one of his remarkable, inscribed pots from the Civil War era discussed and appraised on The Antiques Roadshow. This book provides the closest thing to a coherent narrative of Dave’s life we are ever likely to have. The moving parts of the book come in shards—or sherds, to use the variant the author employs throughout this book. Like the literal sherds of the “great and noble”storage jars Dave made, they are definitely worth finding. Author Todd’s ancestors owned the potteries where Dave worked as a slave and then a freedman, and Todd uses family documents to reconstruct or, sometimes, just to imagine the life story of the renowned maker of four foot high jars. Except during years when the anti-literacy laws were most harshly enforced against slaves, Dave dared to inscribe his storage jars with his name and, sometimes, with cryptic poems powerful enough to move us 150 years later. If Todd is correct, Dave had wife and children sold away from him at least twice. Yet, one of Dave’s jars bears this inscription: “I wonder where is all my relation/ Friendship to all—and, every nation.” (Mary H., Reader's Services)
February 12, 2016
The story of the life of "Dave the Slave," later known as Dave Drake, a potter who worked principally just before the civil war in South Carolina, written by the descendant of one of his owners. Dave is the slave potter who was known for writing verses on his pots, in the time when it was illegal for slaves to learn to read and write. The author collects the known facts about Dave as well as a general history of this area of the country, near Edgefield District and Hamburg District, South Carolina, and Aiken County (a short distance from Augusta, Georgia), from about 1800 through the civil war period and shortly afterwards, including reconstruction times.
A good book though as a history book it is a little bit dry compared to what I have been reading.
A good book though as a history book it is a little bit dry compared to what I have been reading.
January 20, 2009
While this book was interesting, it was much too speculative for my tastes. The text was littered with "possibly" and "perhaps," to the point that I started wondering what in the book was actually known. The information about ceramics and Dave's inscriptions was great. Probably not enough genealogical information exists to fully flesh out Dave's life, so the personal side of the story felt a bit hollow.
March 23, 2009
I'm really sad that I didn't finish this book and will probably pick it up again. I read over half. I really enjoyed it. Made me want to dig out my pottery tools and get busy. Not only that but I found it fascinating how brave this man Dave was to write on his pottery when it could have gotten him in some serious trouble as it was illegal for slaves to write. Makes you want to do some family history too.
April 21, 2009
Marvelous....Leonard Todd did an excellent job with the research. I have read as many accounts on Dave as I have been able to locate, and this is, by far, the best. If you are interested in pottery, and especially the potters of the Edgefield, SC district, this is the book for you, a must read. The book also includes lots of interesting info about South Carolina during slavery and the during Civil War.
July 18, 2009
Interesting account of one man's search for information, encompassing the history of slavery in the US, SC history, personal information about families and slavery, particularly in SC, and, of course, lots of information about pottery--how it's made from beginning to end, and more! Oh, yeah, and some Civil War history as well.
January 4, 2009
A good reference book for pottery collectors, folk historians and anyone interested in Dave's amazing works.
August 19, 2009
Very interesting book about Potter Dave. I learned a lot about my Miles family heritage from Edgefield,Sc in this book. Autho is a distant relaive of mine on the Miles side.
December 15, 2010
Amazing! Thanks to Leonard Todd for bringing this man to light.
November 4, 2015
Great book, a very interesting and in depth look at the life of a slave who was an artisan and left a lasting legacy and mystery with his pots.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews