Melrose Ware Father Christmas Toby Jug

• Toby Jugs / Character Mugs - Toby jugs are earthenware jugs depicting the full figure of a person, usually a man, in a three-cornered hat holding a jug, of beer and a pipe or glass. They were first made in the 1760s by Wood family of potters in Staffordshire and the design was copied by other potters in the area, and later elsewhere. They were said to be inspired by song and etching of Sir Toby Phillpot, a legendary 18th century Yorkshire drinker. The style became popularily used to depict other figures including Martha Gunn (the celebrated Brighton bathing woman), The Thin Man, The Drunken Parson, Prince Hal, The Night Watchman and many others. An enormously popular genre, toby jugs have continued to be made, sometimes in porcelain, often in miniature form. Many of the modem versions have been deliberately crazed to appear old. Character jugs have been produced by Royal Doulton since the 1930s: Ronald Reagan appeared in 1984, Sir Winston Churchill in 1940, and John Barleycorn, idiot yokel, was produced from 1934 to 1960. For purists, a jug depicting head-and-shoulders only a 'character mug'.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Melrose Ware (Hoffman Brick & Tile (Australia) - ceramics 151