Saturday, March 25, 2017

Daffodil Tea Cups


Today was a very overcast day; hard to tell one end of the day from the other, so it was a good time for getting out my two sunny yellow daffodil teacups.  Both are from England, made in the 1960's.
The use of teacups had diminished with what I call the onslaught of the mug culture in the late 60's which was full-throttle in the market by the 1970's.  Before that, thicker cups were made, tea-cup style with saucers, for restaurants, trains and other public places where hot drinks were served. These were made of thick glass, some which you can still find in Goodwill, made of green glass or white milk glass.

Some of us lived before the mug era. We remember when everyone drank from teacups, do we not? 

The first cup below, was sold at places like Woolworths and Kresges very cheaply and people in general thought they were not of good quality.  I bought them as gifts for other people and now am getting some of them back! A few years ago I began buying gifts in duplicate if I liked them. That way, it would not be such a long wait to find them in the antique shops.

When these teacups made it to the thrift stores in the 1980's they were sold for 99 cents a set and still no one wanted them. That was when a few ladies saw their value and began collecting them for using in the afternoon tea times that has swept over the US since the 1980's and is still going strong,
Daffodils are in bloom now so I brought some inside to give us sunshine.

This is an old plate that has a scratch on it, but it was made in USA, so that means it pre-dates the current sources of products, to put it politely.
I always thought it was a thrill to serve tea according to the teacup flower or color and wear an apron to match, or a tea-length dress in a coordinating print.
You can get daffodil fabric, too, below.

In my next teacup post I will try to explain how to choose a teacup to buy, old, or new, and show my favorite every day teacups I like to use.

I do not know if it was intentional, but it seems to me that The 19th century artist, Tissot painted these dresses to resemble daffodils.
Daffodils on Hiway 99 East here in Oregon
The castle teacup is from a Royal Albert series called Traditional British Songs. Here is a pictire from the web.

15 comments:

Songsparrowgarden said...

Greetings Lydia!!! Since February (when my basement flooded twice and other big issues happened) I've been unable to read your posts. . Now I'm back and its such a joy to see beauty as you show and describe. I've really missed you and your posts and commentary. It reminds me of a fabric I have with Lilly of the Valley (blooms in May here) . . and has written on it "Happiness returns". Today, happiness returns. . Happy Spring and I hope all is well with you. I'll continue reading to see what I've missed. I know it will calm and soothe, as always.

Blessings to you and yours,
Warmly,
Chris

Songsparrowgarden said...

oh, and I have not heard of Kresges since I'm about. . 12 years old. . . wow, that's a blast from the past. .. and a good one. I remember a little plastic glittered Christmas manger I bought there once for 25 cents. It was teeny tiny but precious. How nice of you to mention it. .

Sharon said...

I enjoy your blog so much.The beautiful teacups you share are like beautiful artwork.What a joy.I have a few teacups.I would like to collect more,but at this time I just don't have money to spare.My grandaghter ,who is 5,was raised on tea parties. She has special tea cup.what fun we have.Even her grandfather has joined our teaparties,what memories. Have a blessed day.Sharon

Lydia said...

Mrs.O has left a new comment on your post "Daffodil Tea Cups":

The yellow is beautiful!! One of my daughters just ordered the sweetest little shoes ( a slight variation on the mary jane) with a bow on the side in a buttercup yellow! I told her I wanted to be a "copycat". (Smiles)
Lady Lydia, can you tell me if bangs ( hairstyle) were coming back in the times of these paintings? May seem like a silly question, but I have always wondered. You often see them on the ladies in paintings, but I wonder how commom?
Thank you!
Blessings
Mrs.O

Lydia said...

Trish has left a new comment on your post "Daffodil Tea Cups":

I have the same cup with the daffodils and castle. It's amazing how much a simple thing like drinking from a different cup can change your mood. Hope you have a cheery day tomorrow, Lydia. Bless you..

Lydia said...

Since I have tried posting comments from a smaller devise, it is easy to delete them, and that is why I published the last two under my own mane. I hope to improve on this.😔

magnoliasntea said...

Good morning, Lydia,
I am so enjoying your posts on teacups. Love the daffodils and Love-in-a-Mist teacups. I've collected a few myself and am saddened that teacup production has been swallowed by the mug culture. I'm constantly looking for quality teacups in antique stores and thrift shops to pass along to one of my daughters. The ladies from her church occasionally get together for afternoon tea, and she will be moving to "town" soon and will be hosting from time to time herself. Matching aprons is a wonderful idea so I'll pass that along to her as well. Thank you for these lovely posts.

Lydia said...

There is a belief going around that the next generation will not want our teacups. I wonder if this is spread as an influence de to discourage them. With teacups like this comes the history of the fsmily and of the teacup production. "They" say the next generstion will only want the new things. I like new things and prefer them, provided they are patterns of the old. I would much prefer new teacups if they were produced today, from the same molds as the past, just as I would prefer a Victorian house made new today.

Unknown said...

I meant to ask if bangs were common, I reread that I thought it may be confusing the way I worded my question. Woops!

Laura Jeanne said...

Thank you for your lovely blog, Lydia. Your cheerful posts and lovely pictures of tea cups, flowers, and art work, always brightens my day. I suffer from chronic illness and I often don't have the energy to post a comment, but please know that I appreciate the work you put into the space here to make life a little more sunny for all of us.

I also want to say I love interesting tea cups, and I have taught my 2 daughters (aged 18 and 6) to love them too by giving them special cups I found at antique shops, for their birthdays, so that they can start their own pesonal collection.

Blessings this Sabbath day,
Laura Jeanne

Unknown said...

I have never liked mugs as they hold too much tea. I don't have room to store the pretty teacups like you have but use the ones from my dish set (blue willow which I love!). The plate with the cottage is very pretty and must be lovely with a few cookies on it for tea time. Wishing us all sunny days!

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

Lovely cup. Daffodils are one of my favorite spring flowers. My mom has them in front mixed in with blue irises. She also had 13 red amaryllis blossoming in her back garden. I'm going to a thrift shop next Saturday with a friend and will have to peruse their china aisle.

Lynn said...

How sweet are the daffodils along the main route there.

me said...

Hello Lydia,

What a lovely, cheerful post for Spring.

I think the castle on your tea cup is Welsh...maybe Conwy? That would explain the daffodil motif around it as the daffodil is the national flower of Wales.

I wonder if this is your castle?

http://www.discovermiddleages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ConwyCastleMain.jpg

MarieJ

Anonymous said...

Loved the last picture. It reminds me of the time my husband stopped on the side of the road on his way home from work and picked a small bouquet for me.