Bob Cratchit character jug produced in China for Department 56 of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, circa 1990. Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel "A Christmas Carol". The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge, and possibly Jacob Marley when he was alive, Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working conditions, especially long working hours and low pay, endured by many working-class people in the early Victorian era. Cratchit and his family live in poverty because Scrooge is too miserly to pay him a decent wage. Cratchit's son, Tiny Tim, is crippled and sick, and according to the Ghost of Christmas Present, Tim will die because the family is too poor to give him the medical treatment he needs. While Cratchit's family curses Scrooge for his stinginess, Cratchit says he feels sorry for his employer and insists that they toast his health. A feather quill forms the handle of the jug.
Maker:
Department 56
United States
circa 1990
Model #:
character jug
Size:
medium
Height:
4 1/2"
