American Toby Jug Museum 

Happy Hooligan 3/4 body toby jug in a blue and white colorway produced in Germany circa 1910 and marked Ges Gesch. The Happy Hooligan comics were an immensely popular comic series in the first three decades of the 20th century. Created in 1900 by cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper, a political cartoonist and illustrator working at the Hearst Newspaper chain, it gained international popularity running until 1932 when Opper’s eyesight began to fail, leading to his retirement. "The Happy Hooligan" comic strip followed the exploits of the Hooligan brothers, three poor, affable hobos with an aversion to work whose adventures made up the premise for the comic strip. The family consisted of the three brothers, Happy Hooligan, Gloomy Gus and Montmorency. Rounding out the cast of characters were Happy’s girlfriend Suzanne, Happy’s dog Flip, the brother's three wisecracking nephews, and an ever present policeman called The Cop. The mark Ges Gesch is short for "Gesetzlich geschuzt" meaning registered in German. Ware marked in this way is commonly referred to as Ges Gesch ware.