Hi there. I wanted to share a specialized type of a cup and saucer or teacup called a demitasse, demi tasse, espresso or mocha cup and saucer for Teacup Thursday, and the other blog parties I am joining which are listed at the bottom of the post, including Pink Saturday.
Demitasse or espresso cups and saucers are smaller than the usual teacups you see, but have their own sets of rabid collectors. Demi tasse actually means small cup in French, and has been around since the first tea and coffee reached Europe. Because of the initial cost of tea and coffee, the cups were small. Both coffee and tea were first thought to be more of a medicine than a relaxing, convivial drink.
The 2 cups and saucers above are from different eras. The top is of recent manufacture for Herman Dodge, who also managed Royal Patrician which closed in 2009. The second is from Charles Ahrenfeldt, Limoges, France and dates to the 1890s.
The cup and saucer above of the two here is by Crown Staffordshire, England with hand painted flowers and heavy gold trim and was made between 1908 and 1936 and qualifies as a "cabinet" cup and saucer, or one you would display in a cabinet for it's beauty and workmanship. The second is by Shelley China, England from 1940-1966 when the pottery closed and is carved and has enamel paint details.
After a bit of a decline in popularity of the smaller cups and saucers, which waned as the price of tea and coffee declined making a bigger cup preferable, the demitasse or mocha cup and saucer again came into vogue in the Edwardian Era, where the wealthy and trendy served after dinner coffee with liqueurs and cigars which became a symbol of wealth and privilege. Watch any program from that era and you will see them. Try Downton Abbey! Their popularity raged up to the 1950s when trends changed, only to be revived in the 1980s with the growing popularity of espresso...or expresso...it's a big controversy about the name. Anyway, they are wonderful!
Have fun visiting the blogs below. For further info and photos of the cups and saucers shown at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
Demitasse or espresso cups and saucers are smaller than the usual teacups you see, but have their own sets of rabid collectors. Demi tasse actually means small cup in French, and has been around since the first tea and coffee reached Europe. Because of the initial cost of tea and coffee, the cups were small. Both coffee and tea were first thought to be more of a medicine than a relaxing, convivial drink.
The 2 cups and saucers above are from different eras. The top is of recent manufacture for Herman Dodge, who also managed Royal Patrician which closed in 2009. The second is from Charles Ahrenfeldt, Limoges, France and dates to the 1890s.
The cup and saucer above of the two here is by Crown Staffordshire, England with hand painted flowers and heavy gold trim and was made between 1908 and 1936 and qualifies as a "cabinet" cup and saucer, or one you would display in a cabinet for it's beauty and workmanship. The second is by Shelley China, England from 1940-1966 when the pottery closed and is carved and has enamel paint details.
After a bit of a decline in popularity of the smaller cups and saucers, which waned as the price of tea and coffee declined making a bigger cup preferable, the demitasse or mocha cup and saucer again came into vogue in the Edwardian Era, where the wealthy and trendy served after dinner coffee with liqueurs and cigars which became a symbol of wealth and privilege. Watch any program from that era and you will see them. Try Downton Abbey! Their popularity raged up to the 1950s when trends changed, only to be revived in the 1980s with the growing popularity of espresso...or expresso...it's a big controversy about the name. Anyway, they are wonderful!
Have fun visiting the blogs below. For further info and photos of the cups and saucers shown at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
Miss Spenser ~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup
Thursday
Coloradolady ~ http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/
Vintage
Thingie Thursday
Mrs. Olson ~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Share
Your Cup Thursday
Beverley ~ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/
Pink
Saturday
