What is the difference between a toby and a character jug?

A toby jug is the whole figure, seated and usually hatted, with the body of the man forming the body of the jug. A character jug shows the head and shoulders of a recognisable person. Both descend from the same English pottery tradition. In this archive the toby form dominates, appearing in 17 of the 19 titles.

Which period do most of them come from?

The dated field runs from 1850 to 1920, with thirteen listings carrying a clean year. Decades cluster in the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s. Four listings say only "19th Century" and two say "Georgian". Both are dealer shorthand rather than a dated attribution, and the two Georgian pieces are given as c.1830 in their titles.

Are named figures common in this category?

About half the titles carry a personal name. Lord Nelson is the most repeated subject, in three separate listings. Lord Kitchener, Sairey Gamp, Farmer John, the Falconer, Squire, Mr Snuff and a Snuff Taker each appear once. Snuff-taking recurs across dealers as a stock toby character.

Do any of these jugs come from outside England?

Two, both tin-glazed. One is a Dutch Delft polychrome faience toby carrying a pseudo mark reading APK, the other a Delft toby that doubles as a vase. Every other origin named in the archive is English.

Are makers usually named on these jugs?

No title in the archive names an eighteenth-century Staffordshire potter, and the maker names that do appear belong to the four early twentieth-century factory character jugs. Staffordshire, used in seven titles, points to the pottery district rather than to one firm.

How often do character jugs appear on Sellingantiques?

Nineteen listings from ten dealers, at roughly two a year. That makes it one of the smaller pouring-vessel categories on the site. Single jugs are the norm. Only one listing in the archive is a pair, and one jug is modelled as a spaniel rather than a person.