| Toby and Character
Jugs
Love them or hate them, most people can identify a Toby or
character jug. They depict a multitude of characters from
historic times to the present day and come in a range of sizes.
The Early History
Although the first Toby jug was made in the 18th century,
their origins go back two hundred years to the German jugs
in the shape of bears and then the later Staffordshire owl
jugs. There is no agreement about how they received their
name. Some people say it is based on Shakespeare’s Sir
Toby Belch but the majority of experts agree the most likely
source is Toby Fillpot (or Philpot), a legendary drinker whose
real name was Henry Elwes, reputed to have drunk two thousand
gallons of strong ale.
The first known Toby jug was made in the late 18th century
in the form of a seated man, wearing an 18th century tricorn
hat, a white stock around his neck and the long coat, knee
breeches and buckled shoes, typical of 18th century dress.
The figure usually holds a tankard. This was followed by figures
of a drunken parson, a convict, a miner with a blackened face
and other recognisable stereotypical figures.
The father and son potters, both called Ralph Wood, of Staffordshire
are credited with producing the first Toby jugs. These pieces
were quite unlike the vividly coloured ones we see today.
Their colours were drab blues, browns, yellows and greys.
Toby jugs increased in popularity and, during the 18th and
19th centuries, were manufactured by many potteries. The range
of characters increased and included national and regional
personalities. By the 19th century, many English and European
companies were reproducing the original 18th centuries figures
but in much brighter colours. During the 19th century, Toby
jugs were made by European factories in both pottery and porcelain
but these pieces often have no identifying marks.
Because many of the early figures used in Toby jugs have
been produced almost continuously, dating them can be difficult,
especially for the new collector. The signs of a very early
example include a subdued palette of colours, the centre of
the tricorn hat is a removable lid and an impressed mark ‘Ra
WOOD BURSLEM’. Of course, none of these will guarantee
that a piece is early or made by either the father or son,
Ralph Wood.
Doulton Toby and Character Jugs
In 1815 Doulton began making Toby jugs still using subdued
colours. Just over one hundred years later, one of Doulton’s
designers, Charles Noke, revamped the traditional design.
Instead of a seated figure, his Toby jugs featured just the
head and shoulders of the figure. These ‘character’
jugs, as they are called, were launched in 1934 with John
Barleycorn who symbolised whisky.
This piece was such a huge success that other figures were
quickly added. These included Sairey Gamp, Dick Turpin and
John Peel (the historic fox hunting man, not the DJ).
Doulton made a feature of the handles of their character
jugs. Initially, most of their early jugs had plain handles
although Dick Turpin’s handle was in the form of a gun
and some of the clown jugs had multi-coloured handles. Gradually,
though, the handles were used to add information about the
character. For example, the Duchess from ‘Alice in Wonderland’
has a handle in the shape of a flamingo while a character
jug dating from 1947 of a Yeoman of the Guard (Beefeater)
from the Tower of London has GR on the handle for George Rex.
Current Royal Doulton character jugs include a Woman of the
Territorial Army to celebrate the part they played in the
Second World War. The handle on this jug features a glove,
hammer and spanner. This is a limited edition of 250 and retails
at £65. In 2005, to celebrate the bicentenary of the
Battle of Trafalgar, the company made a jug of Lord Nelson.
This handle incorporated the bow of HMS Victory, the White
Ensign flag and a cannon. The sale of this model from Royal
Doulton was time limited to 2005 and sold for £150.
Points to Check Before Buying Toby and Character
Jugs
There are some basic points new collectors should check before
buying. Richard Surman from Character-jugs.co.uk advises buyers
to look for hairline cracks. He says, “Hairline cracks
can be difficult to spot so you need to look at the piece
in a good light. You also need to check for repairs especially
along the rim and the handle. Additionally, beware of seconds.
On these, the centre of the Royal Doulton backstamp has been
drilled out. These are not of great value in comparison to
a first quality item of the same jug.”
Richard also suggest that you should concentrate on a subject
area that interests you otherwise your collection can quite
quickly get out of hand because there are so many different
versions of character jugs available. There are a number of
series such as American Presidents and Characters from Literature.
Many of these are available in different sizes so you can
choose to collect one particular size or focus on collecting
the items that are available in different sizes.
He also makes the point that catalogue prices can be inaccurate
when deciding if you have found a bargain. Auction websites
have driven down prices considerably but you do take the risk
that the item may not be quite what it seems.
With care, collecting Toby and character jugs can be a colourful
and rewarding hobby and your collection might eventually increase
in value if you buy wisely.
Did You Know
In 1984 Royal Doulton made a character jug of Clark Gable
and shipped 2000 copies to the USA. The image wasn’t
approved by his estate so unsold ones were recalled and destroyed.
The few that escaped destruction are now worth more than £2000
each.
Top Tip
Repairs to Toby or character jugs usually feel rough or you
can feel that one area is slightly raised where it has been
repaired.
Copyright © 2006 Carol Fisher. All Rights
Reserved
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