Flick through the pages of an issue of ATG in the 1980s and there are many references to the rising market for Royal Doulton character jugs.
In 1985, for example, several examples of The Hatless
Drake appeared for sale, topping out at £3200 for that sold by
Abridge Auctions, Essex.
Abridge Auctions are no longer with us and neither are such
stratospheric sums.
The Hatless Drake, which has the words Drake he was
a Devon man printed in relief across its subject's
shoulders, was made in only limited numbers in the early years of
the Second World War and remains among the rarest of the production
run of Doulton 'tobys', but it is an indication of where the market
is now that another was sold by Lincolnshire auctioneers
Golding Young & Mawer (17.5% buyer's premium) on June 20
for £1400.
Nevertheless, it is a great deal more than the later Sir Francis
Drake design (one in which he wears a hat) might bring today:
probably no more than £30 at auction.
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