American Toby Jug Museum 

Simon character jug produced by Longton New Art Pottery of Longton, England, circa 1955 using its Kelsboro Ware tradename. Although known to us today primarily as a nursery rhyme character, it is likely that the name Simple Simon was applied to simpletons centuries before the rhyme was first published in the 1700s. A ballad in circulation in the late seventeenth century describing a henpecked husband is entitled "Simple Simo's Misfortunes and his Wife Margery's Cruelty". In early versions of the anonymous nursery rhyme, Simon performs a number of idiotic actions such as eating mustard mistaken for honey and washing his face with a blacking ball. The more familiar version finds this silly fellow indulging in equally ridiculous pursuits, trying to buy a pie with no money and attempting to catch a whale in a bucket of water. The small size Simon character jug stands 2 1/4" tall.