Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology And History In Virginia City

6: Desires for Diversion

Porcelain knobs and iron hinges lay near the stack of broken plates, furnishing evidence of a cabinet that once held the saloon’s dinnerware. The doorknobs were chipped and badly burned, further attesting to damage from the fire, which likely burned the cabinet out from under the plates. Unlike the saloon’s ornate glassware, the plates were plain, made of undecorated white earthenware with a clear glaze (figure 5.7). Although they appeared to be the same style, a closer look revealed that different manufacturer ’s marks were stamped onto the base of each plate. The marks indicated that the plates came from various potteries in Staffordshire, England, including Powell and Bishop and J. and G. Meakin. Staffordshire potteries mass-produced ceramic vessels during the eighteenth century and by the turn of the nineteenth century were shipping them around the world.3 The prevalence of these objects at historical archaeological sites is a reminder of A Toast to the Artifacts x 105 Fig. 5.7. Stack of ceramic plates from the Boston Saloon after cleaning and mending by archaeology volunteer Dan Urriola. Photo by Ronald M. James a global system that connected outposts the world over with the economy of England and with the expansion of its industries. Even isolated communities like Virginia City, Nevada, were part of this system.4 Each pottery company stamped its name or emblem on the underside of its wares. Because mark styles tended to change over time, they have become tools that archaeologists can use to ascribe dates to certain objects. The maker’s marks on the plate bases from the Boston Saloon designate a wide span of time, namely, the last fifty years of the late nineteenth century.5 The various manufacturer’s marks also reveal that the business’s dinnerware was an assortment of white ceramic plates rather than a matched set. The cabinet that held the stack of plates also contained other pieces of dinnerware, such as white ceramic serving bowls and platters, decorative porcelain serving dishes, and “yellowware” bowls and platters (figure 5.8). The paste or clay fabric that forms yellowware is a yellow or buff color covered with a clear glaze; glaze refers to the glassy coating, usually made from silicate mixtures and bonded to the ceramic surface to provide a protective 106 x b o o m t o w n s a l o o n s Fig. 5.8. Yellowware serving bowl from the Boston Saloon artifact assemblage, after mending by Dan Urriola. Photo by Ronald M. James and decorative veneer. While yellowware vessels have been available since 1840, their popularity peaked between 1870 and 1900, a period that includes the years when the Boston Saloon was in operation. In addition to the ceramic service items, crockery made of stoneware was also excavated at the Boston Saloon (figures 5.9 and 5.10). Stoneware is a nonporous, hard, grainy ceramic that ranges from buff to light gray in color and that commonly occurs at archaeological sites as bottles and crockery. Archaeologists dug up shards from a matched set of two large stoneware crocks, one of which was nearly completely reconstructed by Dan Urriola, an archaeology volunteer. Mending also revealed that decorative floral designs covered the entire top of each crock lid. Crockery like this was commonly used for storage. It was likely associated with kitchen storage at the Boston Saloon, a conclusion made possible by using forensic techniques to identify a stain on one of the crock lids.6 Together with the plates and serving dishes, these vessels imply a greater emphasis on food service and perhaps more frequent dining at the Boston Saloon than at the other establishments. A Toast to the Artifacts x 107 Fig. 5.9. Stoneware crock and lid with embossed floral decoration , after reconstruction, revealed more of the Boston Saloon’s story. After devoting so much attention to the Boston Saloon’s pottery remains, it is essential to discuss the smaller pottery collections at the other Virginia City saloons. Only a few white ceramic plates, one platter, and one serving bowl came from the excavation units at Piper’s Old Corner Bar. These were the same type of undecorated white items as those found at the Boston Saloon, which means that even though both of these businesses offered drinks from fancy glassware, they served meals on rather plain vessels. Archaeologists found similar basic white pottery platters, plates, and...