Presentation pitcher

The first official railroad journey connecting the Mississippi River, at Rock Island, Illinois, to the Atlantic Ocean took place in 1854. The participants then boarded seven steamboats and embarked on a voyage upriver to St. Paul, an event known today as the Grand Excursion. The distinguished company included former president Millard Fillmore and other eastern politicians, journalists and historians who, like most of the world, had never viewed the picturesque scenery of the Upper Mississippi Valley, such as St. Anthony Falls, Minnehaha Falls, and Lake Pepin. The appreciative passengers on the Lady Franklin presented their captain, Le Grand Morehouse, with this pitcher. Its rococo revival ornament includes meandering vines and clusters of grapes, and the sinuous handle anticipates the later Art Nouveau style.