Featured McCoy Chicken Pitcher

From the 1940's? Maybe I did not check every single one online but what I saw had different bases and not marked. Were all these produced at the same time period? Someone also mentioned it was from the The Cope Collection?
Thanks

 

Very much like it!
Headed for a baseball game in minutes......
I think I'll call the opposing pitchers this.......

 

Hi Kard - the McCoy market is flooded with reproductions. As far as I'm aware the real chicken pitcher is never marked. Cope collection items are one of a kind and rarely, if ever, come on the market. Authorized reproductions are usually much more thoroughly marked. What are the dimensions?
Don

 

Is that where 'the real McCoy' comes from?

 

That sure looks like an old bottom though. Let me dig out my BIG McCoy book, and see what I can find.

 

Ok . . . on page 167 of my Sanford's a pitcher like yours is shown - color looks right too.
It says - " 32 oz Pitcher 1941. Flat bottom".
It does not say if it is marked or not.

Now then, under the Cope Collection, another is shown, but the glaze is a different shade.
That is not unusual, as the Copes (Leslie & his father, Sydney) were designers, and often the pieces show up with many different finishes and colors than the ones they personally did, as the ones they did were used for the molds for production.

So - while the "Cope Collection" may well not be marked, the general production pieces probably were.

That is my opinion.

 

It is about 6" tot he tallest points.
The pitcher does appear to be old so if reproduced it must have been done some time ago.
Is there anything about the bases of McCoy pieces that can point the period of production? Like flat with seam in the middle vs the one with no seem and being slightly convex?

 

Snyder, pg. 135 describes "Chicken Pitcher, 1943, unmarked, 5.5" high. Hanson, Nissen, and Hanson, Vol. 1, pg. 143 describes "Bird Pitcher, - 32 oz. 6", marked McCoy or unmarked, White, Yellow, and Green." So now I'm not sure what to believe! Personally I've never seen a marked one or a blue one but I'm not sure we'll be able to resolve without turning up original catalogs. Given the stains in the crazing, though, I vote original.

Don

 

I found a McCoy Pottery page on Facebook and have requested to join. I recognize a couple of McCoy experts on the list of members including Chiquita Prestwood who is the go to person on McCoy IDs. Once approved I'll ask them if this pitcher has been reproduced. If anyone knows it will be folks on that page. Will report back.
Don

 

According to Wikipedia:
The phrase "The real McCoy" may be a corruption of the Scots "The real MacKay", first recorded in 1856 as: "A drappie o' the real MacKay," (A drop of the real MacKay). This appeared in a poem Deil's Hallowe'en published in Glasgow and is widely accepted as the phrase's origin

 

That's a 'kilt'er explanation!!!
Thanks!!!

 

Yeah, but they said it may not be the true explanation. There are about a dozen of them.

 

Thought 'they' got it from a TV show....

 

One Hatfield said to the other...." I just shot me a real McCoy".......

That must be it's origin...........or that's what get's mentioned after toomuchGin !!

( my facts at times can be iffy......)