Drake scholar, Jill Beute Koverman argues that Drake "made more than 40,000 pieces over his lifetime." A total twenty of Drake's jars and jugs are inscribed with original poetry and fifty additional vessels reveal his signature, maker's mark, date, and other inscriptions. Drake's jars are bulbous in form, similar to most ware produced in antebellum Edgefield. Drake is known for the massive size of his ware and the largest jar attributed to Drake holds and measures tall, with a circumference of . One marker of Drake's work is that his jars are widest at the top - "They are wide-mouthed forms with thick, rolled rims and high broad shoulders. Contemporary potters who have examined Drake's thick-walled, large capacity storage jars are amazed at the great strength and skill that was required to produce vessels of such size." The use of Drake's ware ranged from pitchers for buttermilk, jugs for molasses or whiskey, churns for butter, large jars for pickling vegetables or preserving meats such as venison and bear.