Toby lives on

Martin Hewitt explores the origin and the appeal of a British favourite, the Toby Jug...

The Rev Francis Fawkes does not rate among the major British poets. Indeed, as we shall see, his lines may be considered particularly forgettable. But his work has some small claim to immortality - because it inspired a well-known collectors' item, the Toby jug.

In 1761, the Rev Fawkes published a modest book of poetry. One verse, "Toby Reduced", told of the life and death of a heavy toper, or drinker, Toby Fillpot:

"His body, when long in the Ground had lain, and time into clay had resolv'd it again, A potter found it in its Convert so snug. And with part of fat Toby he form'd this brown jug."

The poem inspired Carrington Bowles to produce an engraving of Toby Fillpot and that in turn inspired the famous potters, Ralph Wood and son of Burslem to start making Toby jugs in 1765. Wood is generally credited with the first design, though it has been variously attributed - to Thomas Whielden, Aaron Wood and John Voyez also. The Toby jug vogue soon took hold and, as other potters joined in, the range of jugs acquired new characters, several based on real people.

The Bluff King Hal jug, for example, with three feathers in the hat, takes its inspiration from a fancy dress worn by the Prince of Wales at a Brighton masquerade. In general terms, the Toby jug confirms to a pattern of design: a male figure with a face which is genial without being handsome, a long, full-length coat with low pockets, broad waistcoat, cravat, knee breeches and buckled shoes.

Among the jugs, each ordinarily 8-11 inches high, there are a number of stock characters - the Thin Man, the Squire (probably the model most faked), the Parson, the Night Watchman, the Sailor (complete with blue-striped stockings), the Planter, the Convict, and the Man on a Barrel amongst others. There are, too, a few female Toby jugs, notably Martha Gunn, who enjoyed a certain fame as a bathing attendant at Brighton.

In more recent times, the Allied Generals series made during World War I are extremely popular among collectors and hold their prices well. Meanwhile, a jug modelled on former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher recently came up at a BBC Antiques Roadshow, but valuers were unable to put a price to it.

The earliest jugs were probably made simply for display, in the chimney corners of inns, farms and cottages, but many were no doubt put into service for drinking and topping up tankards.

Perhaps a forerunner of the instantly recognisable Tobies, prior to this time owl jugs were produced in Staffordshire potteries in the late 18th century. Their jugs are thinly potted and coloured in a subdued palette of browns, blues, greys and pale yellow, but the hats forming the lids are often missing.

Toby jugs were popular throughout the late 18th & 19th centuries, and were made by numerous factories. Reproductions of classic Toby jug designs, much more brightly coloured than before, were made both in England and on the Continent during the late 19th-century.

The heyday of the Toby jug was the period 1775-1825 and the 18th century models, notably those by Ralph Wood and Thomas Whielden, are the best examples and the most expensive. Jugs from this period in good condition have been recently valued at around the £1,000 mark, but for new collectors or those interested in quirky characters, you can find interesting later pieces for around £40.

"His body, when long in the Ground had lain, and time into clay had resolv'd it again. A potter found it in its Convert so snug. And with part of fat Toby he form'd this brown jug."