MORGAN OYSTERS — LIMITED PRESERVATION RUN
Set No. 11 of 20
This numbered four-coaster set began with four authentic vintage Morgan Oysters metal can lids originally produced for W. F. Morgan & Sons, Inc. of Weems, Virginia.
Rather than allowing these surviving pieces of American oyster-industry packaging to remain unused or potentially deteriorate, I conceived this limited preservation project to give the original lids a functional second life while retaining their historic graphics and character.
I personally developed the concept from beginning to end: sourcing the vintage Morgan lids, researching an appropriate method of preserving their original printed surfaces, creating the coaster format, selecting the felt backing, choosing the wooden presentation box, researching the history represented by the pieces, and creating the accompanying information and care documentation.
The result is a functional preservation piece created from authentic vintage commercial artifacts — not a reproduction and not a mass-produced souvenir.
Each original lid retains the distinctive Morgan Oysters graphics including “The Pearl of the Oyster Industry,” W. F. Morgan & Sons, Inc., Weems, Virginia, VA 92, 8 FL. OZ. / 236ML, and the embossed SELECTS designation.
To protect the vintage graphics during normal coaster use, each lid received seven light coats of Rust-Oleum Crystal Clear Enamel and was individually fitted with black felt backing to help protect furniture surfaces.
Only 80 original Morgan lids were used to create this preservation run, producing just 20 numbered sets of four.
This is Set No. 11 of 20.
Future availability of comparable sets cannot be assumed. These were made from a known finite group of original vintage Morgan lids, and any future project would depend upon locating suitable authentic examples again.
The Morgan company did not originally manufacture or market these objects as coasters. The historical Morgan components are authentic vintage oyster-can lids; their preservation, conversion into coasters, presentation and accompanying documentation are part of this independently conceived preservation project.
The set includes all four numbered-run coaster pieces, the wooden presentation/storage box shown, the creator-prepared Morgan Oysters historical information sheet, and the Care & Preservation instructions.
These can be used as functional coasters, displayed as pieces of vintage advertising, or preserved as part of a collection devoted to Chesapeake Bay history, Virginia memorabilia, oyster-industry history, seafood advertising, nautical decor or American commercial packaging.
Each lid has survived from an earlier chapter of the Chesapeake Bay oyster industry. This project was created to preserve that history while allowing the pieces to be seen, handled and appreciated by a new generation.
Please review all photographs carefully. The exact set pictured is the set being offered.
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