TOBYS N MORE COLLECTIONS :: CHARACTERS OF DISTINCTION
Ranked #6,345 in Hobbies, Games & Toys, #76,272 overall
THE HUNT IS ON! FOR GREAT TOBY JUGS AND CHARACTER MUGS
"The Patience of the Hunter is always greater than that of the Prey."
The hobby of collecting Royal Doulton Toby jugs 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 plain collectible. Why do you collect?
TOBY'S ANTIQUES OR COLLECTABLES?
WHAT THE HECK IS THE DIFFERNCE?
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
TOBY JUG :: A SMILING FACE AND A BEER IN HAND
THE TOBY JUG IS 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 READS ON AMAZON
Collecting on Amazon
THE RACE IS ON!
STARTING A TOBY JUG COLLECTION
"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice."
Some novice toby jug 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.
JOURNAL YOUR TOBY JUG COLLECTION
KEEP GOOD RECORDS!
PROSPECTING BY THEME
There are lots of Toby jug 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.
A MODERN DAY TREASURE HUNT
WHAT TOBY JUGS ARE 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!
PUT A HANDLE ON THE DECISION MAKING
There are more Toby jug 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 NEWS :: ABC7 Chicago
Collector turns Toby Jug hobby into Museum
Real estate investor Steve Mullins began his collection with 9 jugs in 1947 at the age of 15.
"I was just intrigued by the characters themselves. They just hit me. If you're a collector-- and I am-- I just focused on one thing. And I really like these and I just kept picking them up one by one. And, over the years it just grew," said Mullins.
Mullins now has almost 7,000 jugs in 95
- Toby Jug Museum
- Credits of ABC news and "SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW"...Steve Mullens Real Estate developer and collecter
Stephen M Mullins
Toby and Character Jugs by Steven Mullens
Stephen M Mullins
TOBY JUG MUSEUM WEBSITE
Take a look at the floor plan!
- Toby Jug Museum
- American Toby Jug Museum. The world's largest collection of Toby and Character Jugs! Fun for all ages!
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
- Scraps of mind
- Will the real Toby Philpots please stand up. Article by karooch
- A Bloomsbury Life
- Toby...or not Toby? Sporadic posts about style, travel, food, literature, gardens, eccentrics and their foibles. Article by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

TOBY JUG VINTAGE ROYAL DOULTON AD
TOBY FILPOT
A POEM
In which I will drink to sweet Nan of the Vale
Was once Toby Filpot, a thirsty old soul, As e're drank a bottle or fathom'd a bowl
In boozing about 'twas his praise to excel
And among jolly to -pers he bore off the bell... he bore off the bell
It chanc'd as in dog days he sat at his ease
In his flowe'r-woven arbour as gay as you please
With a friend and a pipe puffing sorrow away
And with honest stingo was soaking his clay
His breath-doors to friendship to mirth and mild ale
So here's to my loveley Nan of Vale
His body, when long in the ground it had lain
And time into clay had resolved it again, A potter found out in its covert so smug
And with part of fat Toby he form'd this brown jug
Now sacred to friendship, to mirth and mild ale
So here's to my loveley Nan of Vale
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ROYAL DOULTON WHITE TOBY JUG COLLECTION
GREAT FINDS ON e-BAY
TOBY JUGS IN FILM
Twelve O'Clock High staring Gregory Peck
The film begins in 1949, as American attorney Harvey Stovall spots a familiar toby jug in an English antique shop. He buys it, boards a train and then bicycles to the abandoned airbase at Archbury where he served in World War II. The film then flashes back to 1942.And the significance of the Robin Hood toby mug? Usually it sets on the mantle in the officers' club, face to the wall; whenever there's a mission the mug is turned face out. "Not again!" an officer mutters when he is confronted by the face.

Twelve O'Clock High
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Are you a collector of anything?
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Where do YOU start your search?
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JaguarJulie
Dec 26, 2010 @ 7:31 am | delete
- Merry Christmas my dear ... still thinking "merry" you know? May you have a blessed rest of the year and a very Happy AND Blessed New Year that is all that you could want it to be!
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OhMe
Dec 21, 2010 @ 7:25 am | delete
- Just popping in to tell you that I thought of you recently. I was at a Christmas Party and looked at a shelf above a door and there sat a Toby Mug. It looked like an old one so I asked and sure enough it was. It looked like a pirate. The owner told me that he found it in a thrift shop for $3. He was thrilled to say the least. Have a Merry Christmas.bir
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sandyspider
Dec 19, 2010 @ 5:44 pm | delete
- These are really interesting mugs and collectibles. With such character in their faces.
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oztoo
Nov 24, 2010 @ 5:16 pm | delete
- My mum had a few Toby jugs. Funny thing she hated them but people kept giving them as gifts. During one house move they strangely disappeared along with a few teapots. She didn't realize it at the time because she kept them packed away so didn't miss them for quite a while. Interesting lens.
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hlkljgk Nov 23, 2010 @ 7:39 pm | delete
- my husband has quite a collection of toby mugs from his childhood. nice lens :)
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