Collecting Royal Doulton Mini Character Jugs

March 6, 2009

SPECIAL COMMISSIONS

An added advantage to collecting minis is that there are just 100 jugs to find. The miniature size was officially discontinued by Royal Doulton in 1991 although there have been occasional introductions since that date, notably the various Christmas miniatures. A mini Santa Claus with holly wreath handle was commissioned for the Home Shopping network for Christmas 1991.

Doulton USA distributed a set of six mini subjects for the Holidays between 1992 and 1996 and this was followed by a series of four Snowman minis with different handles in the UK between 1997 and 2000. The most recent Christmas miniature is Pascoe & Company’s Santa Claus with Christmas tree handle, which was commissioned in 2005.

EARLY MINIS

The miniature size was introduced in 1939, five years after the first large size jugs were launched and the first mini to join the collection was John Barleycorn. For the most part, the minis are the same as their large size counterparts but there are a few exceptions, for example the handle of the Mr Pickwick mini is at the back of the jug rather than the side as on the large.

CHINA MINIS

Between 1968 and 1971, Doulton experimented with a fine china body for character jugs instead of the traditional earthenware. The china jugs are smaller than the earthenware counterparts and are translucent. If held up to a light source,the features of the china character jug seem to glow. Collectors now pay a premium for the china jugs.

VARIATIONS

Generally the miniature size followed the large and small sizes into production within a few years but there have been some exceptions. The mini Golfer was not introduced until 16 years after the large size and the mini Old Salt took 23 years to materialize. Some mini Old Salt jugs ‘escaped’ from the factory a few months before their official launch date in 1984 and these had a significant modeling variation. The crook of the mermaid’s arm was open, rather than closed as in the later production models. This rare ‘open arm’ modeling variation commands at least 20 times the price of the regular version. Other very rare modeling variations include ‘Arry with raised buttons better known as the Pearly Boy and his partner Pearly Girl with her lime green feathered hat.

Mini Checklist    (click here for a printable version)