- Created by
- Hadley, Mary Alice, American, 1911 - 1965
- Manufactured by
- Hadley Pottery Company, American, founded 1940
- Owned by
- Sinclair, Clayton, American
- Sinclair, Hazel, American
- Subject of
- Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
- Date
- 1942-1965
- Medium
- ceramic, metal and rubber
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (Overall): 11 15/16 × 12 3/16 × 10 13/16 in. (30.4 × 31 × 27.4 cm)
- H x W x D (2011.12.34a): 11 7/16 × 12 3/16 × 10 13/16 in. (29.1 × 31 × 27.4 cm)
- H x W x D (2011.12.34b): 1 × 8 7/16 × 8 7/16 in. (2.5 × 21.5 × 21.5 cm)
- Description
- M.A. Hadley Three Gallon Water Cooler with lid from the Rock Rest Tourist Home.
- 2011.12.34a: A large ceramic M.A. Hadley Three Gallon Water Cooler from the Rock Rest Tourist Home. The vessel is primarily off white with a rural motif painted in blue, green and red. The front depicts a farmer standing next to his wife. The farmer is holding a rake upright in his proper right hand. He is wearing a white shirt with green dot accents, white pants, brown shoes, and a wide brim hat. A green kerchief is tied around his neck. On his proper left side is his wife. They are standing side by side with her proper left arm linked through his proper right arm. She is depicted wearing a white dress with a ruffled collar and a pleated skirt with red accents around the edge of the ruffle and the bottom of the skirt. She also has a red bow tied in her hair. The pair are standing in a grassy field with a pig, flowers, birds, and a tree in the background. The interior of the cooler is off-white and is signed by the artist at the bottom in blue paint that reads [M.A. Hadley]. The silver toned spigot at the base of the cooler is metal with a black rubber gasket.
- 2011.12.34b: A ceramic M.A. Hadley Three Gallon Water Cooler lid from the Rock Rest Tourist Home. The cooler lid is round in shape with a round, button handle at the top. It is primary off-white with thick bands of blue, gray, and dark blue around the lip of the lid. The bottom of the cooler lid is off-white and is signed by the artist around one edge in blue paint that reads [M.A. Hadley].
- Place collected
- Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
- Place made
- Louisville, Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- The Rock Rest Tourist Home Collection
- Classification
- Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
- Type
- water coolers
- Topic
- Black Enterprise
- Black interiors
- Business
- Cooking and dining
- Craftsmanship
- Design
- Domestic life
- Ornamentation
- Recreation
- Segregation
- Travel
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
- Object number
- 2011.12.34ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- Unknown – Restrictions Possible
- Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




