A Good 19th Century Rockingham Glazed Toby Mug with an Applied Name and a Frog Found in New England

Through the years, I have found a few nineteenth century Rockingham glazed objects made at the Edwin Bennett (1818-1908)  Pottery in Baltimore, as well as many times seen the collection of Bennett Pottery displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, although in my experience, I had not seen a Toby mug exactly like this one before that I just found tucked away in a group collectible/decorative type shop in New England.  But after some research yesterday, I found that a similar one sold a few months ago in August 2023 in a group lot at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates in Virginia.

This mug is not marked, but it is a style that is known from the Bennett Pottery (and apparently also South Amboy, New Jersey), however the front of the mug is decorated with applied letters that read “JOSEPH” and the interior of the mug is decorated with a frog. Perhaps a presentation piece, a special request or a gifted object at one time that was most likely made in Baltimore or New Jersey around the mid-nineteenth century or so.

For a brief history -- Edwin Bennett was born in Newhall, Derbyshire in England. Furthermore, he was an English American pioneer of the pottery industry and art in the United States, and founder of the Edwin Bennett Pottery Company in Baltimore. He produced a variety of wares from the everyday to the fine and artistic at his company, which was originally founded in the 1840s as the Edwin Bennett Queensware Manufactory, and continued in operation until it was forced to close during the Great Depression in 1936.

A frog mug (also known as a toad mug, surprise mug or ague mug) is a type of ceramic vessel mainly used for drinking beer or similar alcoholic beverages. They were first produced in Sunderland, England before being copied in such places as Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Newcastle. These mugs were part of the tradition of drinking games, such as fuddling cups and puzzle jugs. These practical joke mugs containing frogs or toads date from circa 1775 and continued to be popular until the end of the nineteenth century. An unsuspecting drinker would be surprised as he quaffed his beer to see a frog or toad emerging from the typically cloudy beverage of those days as it was fully consumed and the amphibian came into view, with predictable results.

Nonetheless, this mug is similar to shaving cups from the Bennett Pottery that are displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, among other museums and historical societies in America.

Note: Here is a link to a story I posted in December of last year about a shaving cup made at the Bennett Pottery that I found in Maine: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2022/12/a-19th-century-rockingham-glazed.html.

Update: After a further examination - it appears that this mug may actually be from South Amboy, New Jersey.

19th Century Rockingham Glazed Toby Mug Found in New England

19th Century Rockingham Glazed American Toby Mug

Possibly a Presentation Piece or a Special Request

The Mug has the Applied Letters on the Front that Read "JOSEPH"

There is also a Frog Inside the Mug

Circa 1850s or so

Stands 4" Tall

Recently Found in New England

See Above for More Information

The Front of the Mug is Decorated with Applied Letters the Read "JOSEPH"

See Above for More Information

The Interior of the Mug is Decorated with a Frog

See Above for More Information

A View of the Base

See Above for More Information

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...