Mr Wilson's Pint Pottery Mug

Pint Size

The Story of why is there a FROG in my Cider Mug?

It has many names frog mug, toad mug or surprise mug and is essentially a Pottery vessel mainly used for drinking Cider or similar alcoholic beverages. They were first produced in Sunderland before being copied in such places as Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Newcastle. These mugs were part of the tradition of drinking games such as fuddling cups and puzzle jugs. In this case the drinking vessels featured one or more painted or three-dimensional ceramic frogs or toads that slowly emerged at the bottom of the vessel it was drained.

These practical joke mugs containing frogs or toads date from circa 1775 and continued to be popular until the end of the 19th century. An unsuspecting drinker would be surprised as he quaffed his Cider to see a frog or toad emerging from the typically cloudy beverage of those days as it was fully consumed and the amphibian came into view, with predictable results. In some cases, the creature would gurgle and spit at the drinker through a hole in its mouth as the vessel was tilted and the dregs consumed. Some larger examples had two or three handles and might contain several frogs/toads.