Buck and the Toby Jug

Thanks to Buck Macleod for adopting dummy #333, the Toby Jug. Vent Haven founder W.S. Berger bought this piece in the spring of 1956 for $65, but he had previously bought them from L. Davenport & Co. of London, England, for resale in the U.S. for $31.00.

This Toby Jug has moving lower lip, moving upper lip, and moving eyes. For several years, the eye mechanism was broken and last week I took the piece with me to Portland, Maine, to be fixed by figure maker Austin Phillips. He did a great job and I'm happy to report that the Toby Jug has his moving eyes back in working order...thanks, Austin!

According to the common definitions, this piece should really be called a Character Jug and not a Toby Jug. Character Jugs have just the head and shoulders, while Toby Jugs have a full length figure who is often seated.

You can see this piece on display (and see it demonstrated!) in the Josephine Berger Memorial Building.