Toby Mugs Collection

That Macbeth – what a character!  You can find him, and a lot of other full-size and miniature Toby and Character jugs, on display in our Collections Room.  It was in the mid-18th Century when Toby jugs first appeared.   How they came to be called Toby jugs is debatable – the most oft-cited theory is they were named after Toby Philpot, a character in a popular tavern song. The jugs were in the form of a full-bodied man who was usually wearing a tricorn hat that formed a pouring spout.  Similar “Character” jugs and mugs, comprising only the head and often shoulders, soon followed and eventually both versions became sought after collectibles. There’s even an American Toby Mug Museum in Evanston, Illinois, containing over 8,000 Toby and Character jugs.  https://www.tobyjugmuseum.com