Character Jugs (1955)

Lambeth, London . C/U of an opened book which features an illustration of Long John Silver of Treasure Island. Pages are turned to show another illustration. L/S showing artists Max Henk sitting at a desk looking through the book. He is looking for inspiration for his pottery interpretation of the pirate character. C/U of his work taking shape. He is making a mould for a character jug - or Toby Jug. Various shots of him grabbing pieces of clay and moulding them onto his artist’s impression. He works very quickly. Narrator recounts the history of Toby Jugs over shots of the jug taking shape. Staffordshire is mentioned as the home of this tradition. L/S of a woman in a pottery workshop. This is claimed to be in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent (Stoke on Trent) where casts are made from the original clay model. See note on record b - actually shot in Lambeth. The woman is joining together Long John Silver’s head and his parrot which are made in separate moulds. She checks the piece before it is sent to