The name "John Fornear" proved difficult to research, but I finally found out that he was born in Sunderland in 1756, was married in Tynemouth in 1786, and died in 1827, and is buried in Tynemouth Priory. A quick search for Tynemouth revealed that the folky castle painting on this mug is none other than Tynemouth Castle. I couldn't find any information about a ship named "Henry" but I'm sure that it was John's ship and looked something like the ship painted on the mug.

The mug itself is creamware, and was made just around 1800 or a little earlier. There was a little bit of restoration around the foot, but now it appears to be perfect. None of the restoration went into the decoration.

The mug stands 5�" tall. P.S. All of the decoration is hand painted--no transfers here!