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 s [...]

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.

Perhaps 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� [...]

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 Caroli [...]

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.

The author is careful not to overdramaticize Dave's life, but carefully extrapolates from skimpy evidence. His life was full of events, emotions, friends, family,and accomplishments, but a biographer has to tease out the details from a mention in a bill of sale here or a quote in a diary there. It reminded me of the "Love Letters" play, where the audience gasps out loud as the actors merely read a few lines of a letter that moves the plot forward. A great story, wonderfully underplayed.

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.

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.

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.

Amazing! Thanks to Leonard Todd for bringing this man to light.

Great South Carolina history. Nice pictures of some of Dave's works. Impressively researched and documented. Even better if you're from South Carolina AND love pottery.

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.

A good reference book for pottery collectors, folk historians and anyone interested in Dave's amazing works.

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.