American Toby Jug Museum 

Little John character jug produced by J. Fryer Limited of Tunstall, England, circa 1960 using its Oldcourt Ware tradename. Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alongside Much the Miller's Son. His name is an ironic reference to his giant frame, as he is usually portrayed in legend as a huge warrior - a 7-foot-tall master of the quarterstaff. In folklore, he fought Robin Hood on a tree bridge across a river on their first meeting. A tree branch and vine form the handle of the jug.