John Talbot Stoneware Jug (description)

The salt-glazed stoneware jug emblazoned with the legend “J.C. Talbot, Milton” is a fine example of American folk art, but it also represents a once thriving business concern located in Milton Village.

Talbot’s was a well known purveyor of fancy and staple goods and a carried a line of alcohol that included rum, a drink enjoyed since the colonial period. Initially on Washington Street in the Dorchester Lower Mills, Talbot’s expanded in 1888 to a shop in the new Associates Hall Building, which was designed by Rotch and Tilden, on Adams Street in Milton Village. Here John C. Talbot, successor to his father, ran a store that was patronized by many Milton families, and whose trade was said to be primarily from the sale of rum and gin. This jug probably dates to c. 1890, and is a rare survivor of a once popular dispenser of potent drink, that could be refilled as needed!

In 1919 the local temperance movement effectively shut the doors of the 104 year old Talbot grocery store. The July 14, 1919 edition of the Boston Herald reported that Talbot's Store was forced to close due to a number of customers who refused to trade where "spirituous liquors" were sold.