Puzzle jugs were a popular item in the 18th and 19th centuries – though the earliest example dates from 1300 AD – and were often found in homes and taverns as a drinking game.
Throughout history, taverns and pubs have been a popular meeting place, and beer was often safer to drink than water due to the brewing process, making it a staple part of the British diet.
The puzzle jug was a form of entertainment or drinking game, with the jug itself often bearing an inscription challenging the drinker not to spill the contents. Examples include:
“Within this jug there is good liquor / ’tis fit for Parson or for Vicar / but how to drink and not to spill / will test the utmost of your skill”
“From Mother earth I claim my birth / I’ve made a Joke for man / but now I’m here, fill’d with good cheer / Come taste me if you can”
The example in Kendal Museum is inscribed simply “Drink and be Merry / 1789”.
Drinking from a puzzle jug conventionally is impossible to do due to the perforations around the neck of the jug, so to solve the puzzle, the drinker must suck from the spout on the rim whilst covering the other holes around the rim (or sometimes on the handle) with their fingers.
Puzzle jugs are likely a descendant of earlier drinking puzzles, such as the ‘fuddling cup’, which was made up or three or more cups linked together, the challenge being to drink from one of the cups by tilting it, without spilling the contents of the other cups. The solution was to drink from the cups in a particular order.
Puzzle jugs like this example would have been used at taverns or in the home at times of celebration, including Christmas time, which was typically associated with drinking alcohol and playing games with family and friends.
Find out more about our puzzle jug and other historical drinking traditions by visiting our social history gallery at Kendal Museum.
References:
Puzzle Jug, c.1600-1750 – Hull Museums Collections
D1838. Polychrome Puzzle Jug – Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam | Delftware | Made in Holland