American Toby Jug Museum 

Jack Point large size toby jug designed by Clarice Cliff and produced by Shorter & Son of Stoke-on-Trent, England, circa 1950. From the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "The Yeomen of the Guard", Jack Point was a poor strolling jester in the days of old Merrie England. With pretty Elsie Maynard he tramped through the towns and villages, and everywhere the two entertained the good folk with their songs and their dances, their quips and their cranks. Jack Point was no ordinary jester. Earlier he had been in the service of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he mortally offended his Grace by his conundrum that the only difference between the two of them was that whereas his Grace was paid "10,000 a year for being good, poor Jack Point was good - for nothing." "The Yeomen of the Guard", or "The Merryman and His Maid", is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre in October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan. With permission from D'Oyly Carte, Shorter modeled this series based on the actor and costumes from the operas and posing in scenes from the operas. An executioner's axe forms the handle of the jug. The small size Jack Point toby jug stands 5" tall.