Sweet Little Cherub (Poor Jack)

Sweet Little Cherub That Sits Up Aloft, Will Look Out a Good Birth for Poor Jack – Sunderland

The line comes from a popular song by Charles Dibden titled 'Poor Jack'. In the contemporary print, c1790, Jack holds a club and points to a cherub clinging to the top of the mast. Several variations of this subject appear on creamware ovoid jugs, from the late 18th century, and are most often attributed to Liverpool. The North Eastern examples below were made 1800–1840.

Attributed to J Phillips & Co, Sunderland Pottery

Above left and centre an ovoid creamware jug, perhaps earlier than 1807 when John Phillips first leased the Sunderland Pottery. On the other side, the Tithe Pig transfer. Above right a later creamware jug with coloured enamels, c1815. Below, a trimmed down version of the transfer on a Waterloo commemorative jug, inscribed with the date 1815.

Attributed to Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery

A pink lustre jug from the 1820s or 30s.

Unidentified Pottery

Below a creamware jug, made before 1820. It is very similar to the Sunderland Pottery version below, but could have been made on Wearside or Tyneside.

Attributed to J Phillips & Co or Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery

A different rendering of the subject, similar to the print at the top of this page, on a creamware jug also attributed to the Sunderland Pottery. The title has been trimmed off to make the transfer fit. In this version, there is a fort on the left and the cherub clings to the ship's mast.

Below, a frog mug with typical small 'Dixon' frog with red eyes, and the uncropped version of the transfer. The verse on the other side has the printed mark 'Dixon & Co, Sunderland Pottery'.