ORDINARY TOBY JUG
This is the style that most people associate with a Toby Jug - seated male figure, wearing a long frock coat & tricorn hat, clutching a foaming jug of ale in one hand and holding a pipe in the other.
This particular version dates from around 1800/1810 and has lovely blue pearlware colouring to the glaze (particularly noticeable on his face). He also has nice attention to the detail of his clothing particularly his cuffs & cravat, and a good head of foam to his beer.
SNUFFTAKER TOBY JUG
The Snufftaker is a relatively common style of toby jug in the form of a potbellied gent standing taking a pinch of snuff from the box he is holding in his hand. He often has a wide grin on his face.
The Snufftaker can be found in a variety of sizes and the quality of modelling can vary greatly between the early ones (an example of which is shown here) and the Victorian and later, mass-produced versions which are more widely available.
MARTHA GUNN
This is one of the few Toby Jugs made in the form of a female and depicting a real known character.
Martha Gunn lived in Brighton in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. Her occupation was that of a ladies "bather" - assisting the female gentry of the time in and out of the sea from their horse-drawn bathing machines. However, for some unknown reason she also became the "bather" for the Prince Regent, then in his early 20's, which afforded her great notariety.
She is one of the more rare Toby Jugs to be found and this particular one is interesting as she holds a jug in her hand in place of the usual Gin Bottle.
HEARTY GOODFELLOW
This is another of the few jugs that can be found where the figure is standing rather than in the more normal seated pose.
Dating from around 1800/1820 this is a slightly more rare version as he holds a goblet in his hand rather than the usual pipe. He stands on a rustic mound with a tree at the back, a branch from which forms his handle.
This particular jug comes complete with his original hat crown
THE DRUNKEN PARSON
For obvious reasons,this jug is known as The Drunken Parson, being seated wearing a black frock coat and the white cravat of a cleric of the time. His hat is slightly skewed on his head and he has a rather dazed, slightly sinnister leer on his face. He is seated on an elaborate chair with ball & claw feet & is trying to pour ale from his jug into a glass. This particular jug is 8" high, although it can be found ranging from a smaller 6" to a larger 10" version. The front of the base is always rounded with straight sides and canted back corners. Sometimes referred to as Dr Johnson, he wears a 'physical' or full-bottomed wig, popular in the early 18th Century. It is the general feeling that he was modelled by Enoch Wood, although there is no proof of this.
RALPH WOOD SAILOR
This jug dates from around 1780 and is another very well modelled and detailed jug produced by Ralph Wood. It depicts Jack Tar sat astride a chest , and gazing out to sea, with waves lapping around his base. Can be found with an anchor between his feet.
A very large jug at a full 11.5" tall.