American Toby Jug Museum 

Barnacle Bill character jug produced by Shorter & Son of Stoke-on-Trent, England, circa 1945. "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" is an American drinking song adapted from the traditional folk song, "Bollocky Bill the Sailor". There are several versions of the bawdy song, the first printed version of which is in the book "Immortalia" (1927). Later versions feature the eponymous "Barnacle Bill" who is a fictional character loosely based on a 19th-century San Francisco sailor and Gold Rush miner named William Bernard. Versions are also known in England and Scotland from the early twentieth century. Although the folk song differs in its content "Barnacle Bill" is structured as an exchange between Bill and a "fair young maiden." Each verse opens with inquiries by the maiden and continues with Bill's response and all relate to where Bill will be spending the night and what he might be doing. The tail of Bill's hat forms the handle of the jug.