Toby Jug and Character Jug information

Welcome to TobyJug.info, the site where you can find bargain character toby jugs and other interesting items of collectable pottery. Antique jugs, modern reproductions and contemporary tobies can all be found for sale on the web. Once you've purchased your first Toby Jug you'll find it's almost impossible not to add more to your newly-born collection of jugs. What makes a person buy their first jug? Is it the attraction of the colours and design; the need so many of us feel to actually 'collect' in a disciplined manner; or something else? Whatever your initial impulse it will be one you surely won't regret.

Collecting toby and character jugs is a field of ceramics and pottery all in itself and there are thousands of private collectors and trade dealers connected to the internet around the globe. You can always find plenty of antique, new and interestingly quirky toby jugs via online auction platform, either as an auction lot or to buy now. Not used an auction site yet? . Non UK visitors to this site may prefer to .

Toby Jugs have been around for a long time and it's difficult to actually pinpoint that period in time when they first made an appearance. Was the figure based on a real person? Many theories are put forward but none is truly definitive. What they all have in common, though, is that they portray the full figure (not to be confused with the later 'character jugs', depicting the head and shoulders). Interestingly, in the 18th century, street thieves were known as 'low Tobies' and the highwayman on horseback as the 'high Toby'. However, it's difficult to find any connection between these characters and the jugs of the same name. More convincing is the idea that the original jugs were based on a hard-drinking Yorkshireman, knicknamed 'Toby Fillpott', about whom a drinking song was written and an accompanying print (by Robert Dighton) produced. The print portrayed the seated, and corpulent, drinker brandishing his foaming jug of ale. Many of the early Toby Jugs have a distinct resemblance to this illustration.

Another question that is sometimes asked is whether or not the jugs ever had a practical purpose or whether they were only ever made for decorative purposes. It's likely that the latter is the case, although older, larger, versions of the jug may well have been used for carrying a quanitity of ale from table to table, in ale-houses.

So, who made the first Toby Jug? Again, the answer can only be a matter of conjecture. It is accepted that the Toby Jug originated in the Staffordshire Potteries in the early 18th century but no single pottery can claim the distinction of being the first. Potters associated with those early Toby Jugs are John Astbury of Shelton (1688 - 1743), Thomas Whieldon of Fenton (1719 - 1795) and Ralph Wood 1 of Burslem (1715-1772), but names to also be considered include John Wood and Ralph Wood II.

Once the collecting bug takes hold, and you learn to recognise and love the Tobies in all their various guises, they begin to fall into distinct groups defined by modeling and glaze; the pottery producing them; and the introduction of different characters (eg. The Barrister, produced by Minton and female figures eg. 'Drunken Sal' made by Davenport). Although Staffordshire can claim credit for being the first to produce the Tobies other areas were quick to recognise their popularity and brought their own versions into production, including the Swansea Pottery in Wales, the Portobello (near Edinburgh) and several in Yorkshire.

Toby Jug designs which reflect their early design are known as the 'Ordinary Toby'. They will be around 22cms - 25cms in height and depict a seated figure in 18th century dress and with a tricorn hat. Taller versions can be be found, made by Hollins of Hanley and, in the last century, by Shorter of Stoke. Although these 'Ordinary' Tobies may all share the same basic characteristics, the subtle variations in facial expression, angle of head, clothing decoration and position of the tankard make them an absorbing subject for study and collection.

Because the same design might still be in use 200 years after it was first introduced it can be difficult to date a Toby. The experienced collector will learn to appreciate and 'read' the feel of the jug - its weight and texture being important factors. Glazes, whether 'translucent glaze', 'underglaze', 'overglaze', or even the 'crazing' of the glaze, play an important part in dating and identifying the jug. Facial expressions changed over the years, some of the earlier ones having decidedly unattractive embelllishments such as warts! Many of the earlier jugs had a removable crown to the hat but over time most of those have now been lost or broken. The inclusion of a pipe, the design of the handles, and the modeling of the jug of ale can all provide clues as to the age and provenance of the Toby in question.

And then came the Toby Jugs which took recognisable characters and gave them life, like 'The Bargeman', the Cavalier', The Convict', The Fiddler', John Bull, Prince Hal and any number of others. 'Tinies' and 'Miniatures' came into production; there were all-white Tobies and brown salt-glaze stoneware Tobies; and Rockingham 'brown' Toby Jugs. The collector will find that there are Toby Jugs ranging from the poorer quality, often mass produced examples, to the finest quality possible, and there is one to fit the requiments of any collector's budget.

Coming more up to date, in the 20th century, jugs to depict famous figures, characters from literature, figures from history and so on, all began to make an appearance, sometimes as the 'Toby Jug' full figures and sometimes as the head-and-shoulders 'character' jugs made famous by Royal Doulton in particular.

Welcome to the world of 'Toby'! - 20th century Potteries producing Toby Jugs include:
Ashtead Potteries
Beswick
Burlington Ware
Burleigh
Burgess and Leigh
Chelsea
Copeland & Spode
Crested Ware (Arcadian, Carlton, Grafton, Savoy)
Goss
Denton
Leonard Jarvis
Royal Doulton
Roy Kirkham
Royal worcester
Shelley
Shroter and Son
Wain (Melba Ware)
Wilkinson Ltd.
William Kent (Old Staffordshire)
Wood (various family members)

The Toby Jug in all its guises is one of the most identifiable, easily recognisable and traditional items turned out by numerous English pottery factories over the years. Characters include the town crier, highwayman, ale drinker, pub landlord, seated gentry, satirical caricatures and literary figures.

Find collectable antique, contemporary and modern reproduction toby jugs plus other character pottery. For a bargain toby jug come to TobyJug.info.