American Toby Jug Museum 

Guardsman toby jug produced by Shorter & Son of Stoke-on-Trent, England, circa 1950. This guardsman, dressed in his brilliant scarlet uniform and tall fur hat or bearskin, is a popular tourist attraction at Buckingham Palace as he stands on sentry duty. He is a soldier in the Grenadier Guards, the first regiment of foot guards who are noted for their height, physique and discipline. The Grenadier originated in France in the seventeenth century, trained to throw hand grenades. They were selected for their strength, nerve and initiative. Originally Grenadiers were attached to every regiment, but improvements in small arms weapons made grenade bowling suicidal, and from the eighteenth century the name has come to be used for the company composed of the tallest and finest men. This is the largest of three known sizes. The medium size Guardsman toby jug stands 6 1/2" tall, the small size 4 3/4" tall.