Elvis Toby

toby


This somewhat unusual depiction of Elvis is actually a Toby Jug (a serving jug in the form of a full figure).

The Toby shows a singing Elvis in a red Hawaiian shirt, with representative items of his career around the base, including a teddy bear, a hound dog, and a pair of blue suede shoes (around the back)! The handle at the back of the jug is in the form of a music note and Elvis seems to be sitting on some drums. The jug was planned for release in 1993 by the UK ceramics company Kevin Francis, and was even included in their sales brochure of that time. Only a few colour trials were ever produced, however (there is also a yellow-shirted colourway), before licensing difficulties put an end to the project.

UK International Ceramics has for several years had plans to produce an Elvis character jug (a pouring jug based on a head-and-shoulders representation), but so far this has not been released and I am unaware of any trials. (Royal Doulton produced an Elvis character jug in 1984, but, again, licensing problems prevented its release.)

© David Neale 2020