Davenport is mostly known as a manufacturer of creamware and fine porcelain during the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1801, John Davenport entered a partnership with his old patron, Kinnersley and Edward Grafton of Stourbridge, to make high quality table glass at Longport, Stoke-on-Trent. The partnership finished in 1807 and the firm was continued by John Davenport and his cousin James as J. and J. Davenport. On 1st August 1806, John Davenport took out a patent for a special type of enamel decoration. This was a very complicated process that produced very fine, faint decorations inscribed into the enamel layer before firing. These were only produced for a few decades and almost all surviving examples are drinking glasses and this is one of only one or two jugs know to us. The most frequently occurring decorations show elegant country-sportsmen in contemporary dress. It is likely that such table wares were used to serve refreshments for country gentlemen who partook in such pursuits.