Charles Noke, Doulton’s then Art Director was hailed in the 1930’s as the leader in pottery production. Having established the successful production of figurines and producing world famous glazes such as Flambé and Titanian, Noke’s attention moved to other forms of pottery decoration. Thus between 1930 and 1938, and again in 1952 and 1977, limited edition Jugs and Loving Cups were introduced in numbers between 250 and 2,000. 

Doulton’s loving cups and jugs were startlingly different to anything else hitherto produced. Their style, the body being slip cast with low relief modelling, enhanced by vibrant under glaze colouring. The bases to these cups and jugs are an art work in themselves as anyone who is lucky enough to possess examples will attest. Scenes relating to their subject matter were printed on the base together with their title and piece number. 

The jugs and loving cups served to commemorate legendary heroes such as Sir Francis Drake, Admiral Lord Nelson and Captain Cook. Other jugs were targeted at Doulton’s most popular markets in North America and South Africa, with national heroes such as Captain Phillips (1938), Jan van Riebeek (1952) and George Washington (1932) being celebrated. In 1933 two further commemoratives celebrating the literary greats Wordsworth and Dickens were introduced, both in unlimited editions but due to their rarity today, they must have been made in much smaller numbers than the other jugs. 

In addition to heroes, the jugs aimed to celebrate incidents from popular adventure stories such as Robin Hood, the Pied Piper of Hamlin and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Events surrounding the British Royal Family in the 1930’s were also celebrated with the issuing of limited edition jugs to celebrate jubilees and coronations, a tradition which was revived for Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953 and Silver Jubilee in 1977. 

The continued popularity of these limited edition pieces can only be put down to their original quality and the subject matter of each piece. In these cups and jugs there is something to attract every collector whether it be a personal memory, an interest in history or simply an appreciation of exquisite objects of art.