Toby on Barrel flask produced by Brampton Pottery of Derbyshire, England, in a Rockingham finish circa 1840. This is the general release of the Toby on Barrel flask which was first produced to commemorate the 1836 performance of Thomas "Daddy" Rice's Jim Crow act in England. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, the white entertainer Thomas Dartmouth Rice (1808-1860) performed a popular song-and-dance act supposedly modeled after an enslaved man. He named the character Jim Crow.
Rice darkened his face, acted like a buffoon, and spoke with an exaggerated and distorted imitation of African American Vernacular English. In his Jim Crow persona, he also sang "Negro ditties" such as "Jump Jim Crow." The flask is a redesigned Toby on Barrel jug with the top closed off to form a flask. The Toby on Barrel is an Ordinary Toby seated on top of a barrel of ale.
Maker:
Brampton Pottery
England
circa 1840
Model #:
Rockingham
flask
Size:
large
Height:
9 1/4"
