THE HUNT IS ON!
The patience of the hunter is always greater than that of the prey.
The hobby of collecting includes searching, finding, buying, organizing, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest. Some people focus on a specialized area or sub topic of interest, perhaps themes, series, limited edition or color variations. Some folks collect items that might be antique, or just collectible.
ANTIQUES OR COLLECTABLES
WHAT THE HECK IS THE DIFFERNCE?
What is the differance between an antique and a collectable?Antiques are collectible items that are at least 100 years old; Collectibles are younger than antiques, and could even be new items. Let's confuse everything even more when collectors and dealers may use the word "vintage" to describe older collectibles. Most collectibles are man-made commercial items.
In general, items of significant, beauty, value or interest that are "too young" to be considered antiques, fall into the realm of collectibles. But not all collectibles are limited editions, and many of them have been around for decades.
So what is the difference between an antique and a collectable? The difference is 100 years!
A SMILING FACE AND A BEER IN HAND
THE TOBY JUG HAS BECOME A COLLECTOR'S PIECE.
Popular in England and America of the day, the Toby jug has become a collector's piece.Toby Jugs traditionally feature a male figure with a smile on his face and a beer mug in his hand. His tricorn hat makes a perfect spout and he wears a long coat with low pockets, waistcoat, cravat, knee breeches, stockings and buckled shoes.
The recent history of the Toby Jug really starts in 1889 when Charles Noke, who joined Royal Doulton as their chief modeler, became increasingly interested in reviving the tradition of the Toby.
He developed first a character jug which featured just the head and shoulders, not the full Toby figure. The rest is history......and a modern day treasure hunt was born.
GREAT STUFF ON AMAZON
THE RACE IS ON!
STARTING A COLLECTION
"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice."Some novice collectors jump right in and start buying items that they like, and then slowly build their knowledge to help develop a well-rounded collection as time goes on. Others want to develop some background in the field before starting to buy.
Regardless, collections start in many different ways, either as a gift from someone or a find at a yard sale. What ever the reason, you can almost guarantee that the first Character mug that you buy will not be the last.
A MODERN DAY TREASURE HUNT
WHAT'S OUT THERE?
Today, the internet makes any collectable of Toby jugs as close as your computer, eBay and your post box. When you perform an internet search on e-Bay, it's just like searching the tables at flea markets, running around yard sales on a Saturday morning or hitting the local church bazaars.The best part of shopping online at Toby's N More is that you are not restricted in your choices by regional distribution. Toby jugs have not been as widely distributed in Canada as they have been in the UK or USA. Canadians can now have access to these collectables through the secondary market and enjoy collecting from the comfort of home. Some Toby jugs were scarcely distributed and can be made available by the convenience of the internet!
PROSPECTING BY THEME
There are lots of choices!
Today, the popularity of Character mugs shows no signs of dropping. Their appeal is that they hold their value, make a great investment and range in various subjects and themes.There are currently over 50 plus Royal Doulton collections and themes to choose from. The options range from Characters of Literature, Military greats, Celebrity Characters to Football Supporters. Additionally most themes have been made in various sizes of tiny, small, medium and large giving the collector even more choices to make.
DID YOU KNOW THAT......
Color variations can make a significant difference to the desireability of Toby Jugs? In the early years different colors for character jugs were unusual, but from the mid 1980's it was standard practice to offer models in different outfits!
PUT A HANDLE ON THE DECISION MAKING
There are more choices!
A feature of character mugs which has developed over of the years is the handle design. Character mugs can be found with elaborate designs or plain designs. The early jugs generally had plain handles.It was during the 1950's that the handles of the character mug became more significant in their production. The handle of character mugs also offers variations for collectors to choose from.
Variations of handles can be seen in the handle of the London Bobby or John Doulton for example which has two variations of big Ben; one with the time reading 8:00 or the 2:00 variation.
HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THE REST!
American Toby Jug Museum
On display are over 6,000 pieces illustrating their evolution from inception c. 1765 to the present day. The collection, some of which dates to the 18th century, is worth in the seven figures, according to Stephen Mullins, a real estate developer,founder and curator of the Toby Jug Museum.
The American Toby Jug Museum ~ Evanston Illinois
TOBY JUGS IN THE BLOGS!
- American Toby Museum
- 2005 review by the Phoenix newspaper
- Icons of England
- Nominate the Toby Jug as an ICON of England
- The Daily Northwestern
- 2004 Article by The Daily Northwestern
- British Optical Association Museum
- 2007 BOA Museum Article
A HAPPY CUSTOMER!
"Hi there, it was just PERFECT and was a nice touch to our Christmas! My husband's family has collected these for years and one was lost in a move somewhere and so when they saw the new one tears of joy were shed! I'll be leaving you positive feedback!" Nancy
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Reader Feedback
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CCGAL
Fascinating! I have seen these peculiar items, but never knew what they were called or that they were a collectible. This was a very educational and interesting page for me. 5 stars, a Fav, and a follow. I don't have anything in my lens that is compatible, or I'd be lensrolling this too. Posted October 06, 2008 |
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Pastiche
So many personalities, so little cupboard space! Toby jugs are just so unique. Lensrolling to Funky Junky Decorating for favorite collectibles! 5* Posted October 06, 2008 |
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Billco
Very nice lens. And thanks for visiting mine. Posted March 25, 2008 |
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CollectorsCottage
What an excellent lens with great information! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've always found Toby collections to be very interesting and wonderfully whimsical. Welcome to Collector Clubs group! Posted March 24, 2008 |
