I’ll state the obvious: I can’t wait until I can start working outside again.
Let’s hop back on the egg cup tour:
We’re moving away from figural cups for a few days. But don’t despair, I’m saving some favorites for the finale.
Four double egg cups, all of them transferware.
On the left: this one was one of the very first I purchased. Made by Mason in England, this is part of their Mason’s Vista series. I love brown transferware (no, I cannot start another collection) so this one immediately caught my interest.
Center: Flow blue transferware. It’s unmarked.
Right: A beautiful cup. I believe it’s from Johnson Brothers.
On the left: a very heavy egg cup in blue and white. I purchased this one, but I can’t remember where. I think it’s stoneware of some kind.
Next: Another blue egg cup, this time with cream/ecru.
Next: One of my favorites. This was on Etsy for months and I kept bookmarking it until I finally bit the bullet. It’s a souvenir egg cup from Chambéry in France. Two groundhogs are gazing upon the Alps. There’s a chalet in the distance. You see why I had to have it.
Next: a red transferware cup that I found in Paris at the flea market. It’s definitely not in the best shape, but hey, it’s from Paris! It’s also open on both ends. I’ve not come across another cup like that.
Four more single egg cups.
Left: a wood and porcelain egg cup that was given to me by my mom. In my most recent exploration of eBay, I learned these cups were made by Tevco in Japan. I see them fairly frequently.
Next: a Delft egg cup from Holland – also a gift from my mom. It’s marked Delft on the bottom.
Next: a plastic egg cup that I found in Paris. I have no idea of its age, but it has a very Art Deco look. I couldn’t resist it.
On the right: a new egg cup from our trip to London. It’s made by Emma Bridgewater and I got it in her shop in Marylebone.
Speaking of my mom buying egg cups, I had a text from my cousin’s husband the other day. They’re currently traveling and they were in an antique shop. They took several photos of egg cups on display to see if I wanted any of them. Yes! Two cups will eventually arrive here at the cottage. I love having egg cups that were found for me by my family.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
]]>On the left, another chick emerging from an egg – this time in brownish palette. This one looks a little threatening!
On the right, a different vision of a chick emerging from an egg. A sweet-faced yellow chick. This egg cup was made in Portugal and it’s fairly easy to find on eBay.
These egg cups live on the little shelf hanging on the wall in the den, partly because the guy on the left is way too tall for the cubbies.
Left: a gentleman egg cup. The head can be removed in order to eat a soft boiled egg in the cup. Originally part of a set. I rarely see it anymore. The set consists of two gentlemen, one head being a salt shaker, the other, a pepper shaker. For some reason, mine does not have any holes in the hat for shaking salt/pepper. Made by Arbalt in Occupied Japan, the period of time when American troops occupied Japan in 1947-1952, which makes it fairly valuable in the world of figural egg cups.
Center: a goose I found in a local antique shop. I love this egg cup. Beautifully painted, it’s marked “Sarreguemines France A.” It has crazing and a couple of faint cracks. When I was shipping egg cups to Country Living magazine, I didn’t include this one – the extended neck and head are too fragile.
Right: another one of my favorites, a little cherub wearing a ruffle, holding onto an egg cup. I adore this one. I did happen to see one like it on eBay yesterday.
On the left: Humpty Dumpty, made by Mansell (I think it’s from England.) I remember really wanting this cup. Very happy when I finally found one.
On the right: a pair of wooden cups that were given to me by a reader of this blog. Each of them has a wooden egg that has holes in the top for shaking salt and/or pepper. I see them for sale on eBay, but they are invariably missing the egg salt/pepper shakers.
I usually display Humpty with this egg that Don found when he was filming in Prague.
All of these egg cups are vintage.
More on Monday, of course.
You can tell that I’ve been exploring what’s available on eBay. I do this once a year when my curiosity is piqued because I’m once again thinking about the egg cup tour. Many of my figural cups are almost impossible to find nowadays, but I’m happy to say that a good number show up at this time of year. I saw the ‘chicks on a teeter-totter’ cup yesterday and I’ve also seen “egg cup houses with bunnies peeking around the corner,” a few of which I’ve shared with you. So if you’re looking for sweet little vintage figural egg cups, you can definitely find them.
Alright, my friends. Time to get that second cup of coffee!
Stay safe.
Happy Saturday.
]]>Puzzle completed. The Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. I couldn’t resist working on it as it’s my favorite place in Paris. This one took a while!
I heard the peepers for the first time last night. Now, I know it’s spring! I checked when they first appeared last year and it was March 23rd. It’s nine days earlier this year. The groundhog was right; it’s an early spring. It’s been warm here this week. Next week will be about 15 degrees colder. March is always a tease.
More of the tour:
On the left: a rooster pulling an egg cup in a pale pink and cream color palette. It’s rare to have the original sticker on anything vintage. It’s made by California Potteries.
Center: one of my favorites – a lustreware egg cup house, with two little chicks playing on a seesaw or teeter totter, as we called them in my part of Michigan.
On the right: a lovely egg cup being pulled by a goose. It’s beautifully painted and is in mint condition.
In fact, all three of these cups are in mint condition.
On the left, a duck with an egg cup on her back.
Center: one of my favorites, a pig wearing a bib seated at a table waiting to dine on his egg. This was made for Tiffany.
On the right: a little girl wearing a bunny outfit who looks like she’s ready to dine on her egg. Love the spots on the cup.
All vintage.
Gulp: I have a lot more egg cups to show you before Easter! How am I going to fit them all in?
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
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Robins were sighted for the first time yesterday! And I just saw another pair on the front lawn. Hurrah! It’s officially spring!
Here we go.
On the left, my other Walking Ware egg cup. Love the green shoes and pink and white socks. Made by Carlton in England.
Next – a chick emerging from an egg cup. This was a gift from my mom, who started looking for egg cups once she learned that I was collecting them.
Another Fanny Farmer egg cup – you can see Fanny Farmer written on the base of the cup. I have two of these and they were a gift from a reader of this blog.
And an intense bunny. Is she worried? Surprised? Shocked? Scared? A lovely little cup with pale green accents – subtly painted in soft colors.
On the left, another intense bunny on a blue egg cup.
Next – one of the first egg cups I purchased. It’s a rooster cup made by Holt Howard. It was in impeccable condition until I bumped into a shelf one day and it went crashing to the floor. Repaired by me.
Next – a lovely little gold lustreware egg cup with flowers that is being pulled by a bear. This was a gift from my friend Lynnie in Canada.
And on the right, a tiny little cup with a bunny either holding it up or peeking out from the side. That’s a flower on the other side. He’s dressed in orange and blue.
Once again, all of these egg cups are vintage.
I like these tours. It’s like visiting old friends and it gives me great pleasure to focus on them once again.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
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