A Message from Ruth at Antiques And Teacups

Welcome to the blog of Antiques And Teacups! Let's share a cup of tea and talk about the things we love...like teacups, antiques, collectibles, visiting England, antiquing and learning about victoriana and quirky gadgets. Fun!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Shelley Crested Teacup, Royal Tea book

Hi there and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! There is no linky for the next 3 Tuesdays because I am having a blog break for family and general holiday. We will visit friend and family, and they are coming to us as well. So rather than be concerned about getting posts done in the midst of clamoring activies at this end of summer holiday, I figured I'd just take a break. If I can put together a Tuesday Cuppa Tea and do a scheduler, I will but there won't be a linky, and I won't be very prompt on my comment replies. The blogs I am joining are at the bottom.

For this Tuesday Cuppa Tea, I have a Shelley China cup and saucer in the Dainty shape that was made in the 1890s-1910s. The generic term for these types of teacups are Crested Ware. In England, souvenirs were brought home from Grand Tours to the European nations, and from domestic holidays closer to home in the various holiday spots in the UK. And everyone wanted to bring home a souvenir! The Victorians and Edwardians were famous for it! Crested Wares were tremendously popular, and most cities contracted to have them made. The Crested souvenirs were done with a black transfer that is then hand painted in enamels. And the competence of the artists vary greatly! But that's half the fun!







Some of the most famous makers who made a lot of Crested Wares were Shelly, Goss, Royal Albert and Carlton Ware. They fun of them were the various shapes, which range from risque, to local bathing beauties and beauty spots to various forms of transportation and local symbols and all sorts of items for the home like teapots, teacups, tea tiles, soap dishes, vases and much more. Here are a few that I have or have at the moment....



This little toby character jug is by Shelley China, 1918-1925 and has the motto 
"No Tongue Can Tell, No Brain Can Think, Oh! How I Love, A Drop Of Drink"
and the crest for Douglas, Isle of man...notice his red nose...


This is the famous tower in Blackpool, England
Shelley China, 1910-1916


This is a Shelley China black dog in a doghouse with the crest for Morecambe, Lancashire England and gold trim. On the top are the words The Black Watch which is a pun on the black dog who is supposed to be a watch dog and the name of a famous regiment of Guards. This is also 1910-1916.


This is a hand holding a pig's leg, or trotter, a local delicacy in Bolton, England who's crest is shown. This was made by Carlton Ware, or Carlton China, Wiltshaw and Robinson between 1906-1924.


And this is a Shelley China golf ball with the crest or arms of Shakespeare and Stratford-on-Avon, made 1916-1924.  I picked this up in the UK because that's where my husband was born and he's a golfer! I love Crested ware souvenirs! Fun, aren't they??? They are quite a large collecting genre with lots of fans and collecting societies all over the world. The teacup is available at Antiques And Teacups. For more info click on the photos.



I also wanted to share a nice tea book called Traditions - Royal Teas With Grace And Style by Eileen B. Shafer. The book was published in 2010, and I recently found it on sale until Sept. 30, 2012 at dorrancebookstore.com.  The well illustrated hardcover features tea recipes and information on hosting a proper tea. The book was reviewed in the Tea House Times  in the Sept/Oct Issue. The book has lots of great info and recipes.



And you have GOT to visit The English Kitchen blog for her Bourbon biscuits (cookies to the Yanks) which are my fave! But she shares a recipe...see above...to make them at home. The recipe is from Jamie Oliver's website Jamie Magazine...another Brit winner!


Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Afternoon Tea
Tea On Tuesday
Tea Tuesday
 Tuesday Teatime
Tea On Tuesday
Poetry In A Pot Of Tea
Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Thursday Tea Things And Talk
Teacup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Shelley Green Daisy Chintz Teacup, Fab Wall Murals

Hi there! It's Thursday today...and time for Teacup Thursday and Vintage Thingie Thursday. We have been having a real few days of summer here with temperatures in the 80s which for us here in the Pacific Northwest is HOT! I know, I know...that's NOTHING compared to what the rest of the nation has been dealing with....and we have been praying for the drought and wildfires all over. Apparently the home we had in north eastern California on a lake by Lassen Volcanic National Park is threatened and many of our friends evacuated. Not good.


Because the daisies are so lush this time of the year, because of the warmth, I am sharing a Shelley China, England cup and saucer in the Daisy Chintz pattern and green colorway...it also came in blue, and I have one of those too (blue being my favorite color) in the Ripon shape which is one of my favorites. The teacups was made between 1940-1966 when the pottery closed.




I just love the pattern! First of all it's chintz which I love, and the daisies are perfect!  What are you drinking your tea from today? Actually...I'll probably be having my tea iced from a glass with the rest of the country this afternoon, although it's in a teacup this morning! I am drinking Murchie's Afternoon Blend from Victoria B.C.

When we were in Port Angeles recently for the Art In Action Sand Sculpture contest (see my previous post) I took photos of a wall mural at the Fiero Marine Life Center at the Community Pier where the sand sculpture contest was held. The murals were done by local artists, and depict the history of the town of Port Angeles. I just love them!



Well I hope you have a wonderful weekend! For more info on the teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photo. Here are the blogs I am joining. 

I won't be posting for the next 3 weeks for Teacup Thursday or Vintage Thingie Thursday as we are having company, family and visiting, as well as just planning to get me away from the computer for a bit...I am planning on using self discipline! I will be back for Thursday Sept 13th. During the time we will do short visits to Victoria and stay at The Fairmont Empress, visit a friend near Vancouver, take walks at the beach, read books and generally chill and who knows what the visitors will want to do!  See you then!


Teacup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday
Pink Saturday



Sunday, August 12, 2012

Teacup Tuesday, Birthday Lunch, Sand Sculpture Contest

Hello my lovelies! Welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! It's a mixed bag today...and I must confess I am hurrying to get this posted before the closing ceremonies of the London Olympics. Hope I don't make too many typpos!!!

I don't have a cup and saucer today but beach themed mugs from Dunoon, England that were designed by British watercolor artist Emma Ball. We have had 4 consecutive days in the hi 70s to low 80s which is summer here, and it's made me think of summer scenes.






English beach huts are such a national thing. They line the shores...which are usually pebbles, not sand...and are often gaily colored and lovingly decorated.






These watercolours are so evocative of days spent in Looe, Cornwall. We spent several weeks there and loved the area. Can't you just hear the gulls call and the water lap and shusssssh against the pebbly beach???




For my birthday last week, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Alder Wood Bistro here in Sequim.  Alder Wood is a wood fired oven organic restaurant drawing from the organic farms in the area and serves literally 1-3 hours old seafood, and awesome pizza. We usually have the cedar planked fish with baby organic vegetables, but had something different this time. And wouldn't you know I'd forget my camera!!??  The photos here are from previous visits. The waitress is a friend, and she even brought me a special edible flower decked dessert with a candle, but no camera! What a doufus!!!!!
Alder Wood has a national, and even international following. Always yummy!!!



2 weeks ago we went to Port Angeles 10 miles away, for the annual Art In Action Sand Sculpture competition. We always go on the Friday when the artists are actually working, because we love to see the process. The octopus above is one of the permanent sculptures that festoon the downtown area and this is right at the Community pier where the contest and street fair was held.




First it was through the booths of the street fair to get to the beach where the sand artists from 8 countries...



A Hollywood Charlie Chaplain sculpture in process....








A prize winning sculpture called Metropolis....


One of the local radio stations KONP even had the engineers and disc jockeys involved....

 A Canadian tea's Canadian Mountie and emerging dog with a sled beside it was a popular sculpture

The People's Choice was a response to the shootings at the Dark Knight a few days before. They have a gun and the caption "This Is The Weapon Of The Enemy".

We had a great time. It's fascinating to watch them work. There are cash prizes, and some of the artists come back every year. There is a huge food court so you don't leave hungry. A wonderful, fun summer event!

Here is the linky and the list of some of the blogs I am visiting/participating. Also...for more info on the mugs at Antiques And Teacups, click on those photos.

Have a great day, and a cuppa tea!


Monday Marketplace
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Afternoon Tea
Tea On Tuesday
Tea Tuesday
 Tuesday Teatime
Tea On Tuesday
Poetry In A Pot Of Tea
Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Shelley Blue, Birthday, Bolts And Bales! And Pink!

Hi there! Welcome to my Thursday blog...a bit late. But I had a birthday yesterday...I am now an OAP! If you are a Brit, you know what that is! For you Yanks, OAP stands for Old Age Pensioner....or as my nieces and nephews in the UK say...a wrinkly!  Yep...65. 


This is the card my son & family sent. The inside says:

 "Do you know how fast you were going over that hill? 
Happy Birthday!"

As you can see...I get a lot of respect...sigh...





Because this Thursday post has a lot to do with teacups as I am joining Teacup Thursday and the other blogs below, I have a special blue teacup today. It's blue and white because that's my fav color, and Shelley, England because that's my fav manufacturer. But this is a little different, because it is a Shelley miniature teacup, which are the most sought after and hard to find of Shelley teacups. This little cutie is in the Blue Charm pattern, number 13864 that was made between 1956 and 1966 when the pottery closed. Isn't it cute? I found it in Vancouver, BC Canada and couldn't believe my luck! So that's my vintage teacup for today.

Bobbies Do The Bolt




Moving onto to the Olympics, this is my favorite photo from the last 2 days. After Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the 100 meters, Bolt fever and his signature lightning bolt move even affected this group of policemen...called Bobbies after the founder of the English police force Robert Peel...to do The Bolt as well.  Too cool!

Bales



And this week as we headed out to our local organic farm market, they had just finished baling hay. Out here they prefer the hay rolls...we call them "shredded wheat bales" after my husband's favorite cereal which comes i (or used to) in a similar rolled bale form in the UK. Welcome to Olympic Peninsula farm country!

And for Pink Saturday...pinky lavender from a local lavender farm....





Here are the blogs I am joining today. You will enjoy visiting them...I certainly do. For info on the Shelley mini at Antiques And Teacups, just click on the photos. 

Teacup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Pink Saturday

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Tuesday Cuppa Tea, London Mug, Scenes from the London Olympics

Hi there! I hope you have all been enjoying the London Olympics as much as we have. The women's marathon today was wonderfully scenic and iconic as it wended it's way through London. And wasn't Michael Phelps' achievements stellar??!!






I also thought the flash mob at the Olympic tennis at Wimbledon,and congratulations to the Williams sisters and Andy Murray, was really fun. Here is a youtube video of it I found:




But this is a Tuesday Cuppa Tea post, so back on topic!!! Instead of a cup and saucer, in honour of the London Olympics here is an English bone china mug by artist Emma Ball made by Dunoon, England in 2007. All the fun things that make London...London are there...







I just love this design! The only criticism is the Guardsman is a Grenadier Guard and not a Coldstream Guard (my husband's regiment). Emma Ball does such wonderful watercolors!




With a background with horses, I am always interested in the equestrian competitions, and this year was fun as a royal watcher, as the team included Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara, daughter of former Olympians Princess Anne and Mark Phillips. Zara is on the far left of this team photo.






Great Britain won silver in the team competition, but Zara didn't do well enough to advance to the individual event finals, despite a huge contingent of her royal cousions, including William and Kate in the audience...




William and Kate also were enthusiastic supporters at other venues




Other items of interest, which I have also previoiusly posted on Facebook, I found this BBC photo of the stuntman who played the Queen as she parachuted out of the helicopter with Daniel Craig as James Bond for the opening ceremony, which is too funny! Apparently even the grandkids didn't know Queen Elizabeth was doing the clip. Prince Harry is said to have quipped, while watching the figure in the pink dress parachute down..."I didn't know that parachuting was one of her hobbies!" Typical British humor!




And as for the Olympics bringing out all sorts of groups, the cast of Downton Abbey made an appearance en masse:




I found that on Hugh Bonneville's Twitter feed, he plays the Earl Of Grantham, where he also has this photo statement I put on Facebook a week ago:




Okay...one last bit of info about...




Did you wonder if the gold medals are gold???? Well, being married to a retired jeweler and diamond setter, I needed to find out. The last pure gold medal was given out in 1912. BUT the current gold medals are 92.5% silver (just below sterling silver) coated with a minimum of 3 grams of gold each. They have to be at least .6 of an inch thick. At the current gold price of around $1,600 per ounce, that still about $150 in gold value, let alone historical value. Cool!


Okay...that's it for today. Here is the linky for my Tuesday Cuppa Tea meme following the list of some of the blogs I'll be joining with. Have a great week, and I hope you get in lots of Olympics. Good grief...we are staying up to midnight every night! I'll be ready for a vacation after!



Monday Marketplace
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Afternoon Tea
Tea On Tuesday
Tea Tuesday
 Tuesday Teatime
Tea On Tuesday
Poetry In A Pot Of Tea
Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

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