A Teacup for Tuesday: Queen Anne {Pattern No. 8425}

Greetings, kiddies! Hot, hotter, hottest... welcome to Summer! We are moving gently today, trying our best not to stir up the Thunder Gods of Sweat -- it is Tuesday, however, and that means it is time to show you another of Trixie's teacups. Today's example is, we feel, a cooling one -- turquoise and white with subtle colors added -- which we hope will enable you to feel comfortable, whatever the weather where you are today.

Depending upon one's source, this set was either made under the auspices of the grand ceramics house of Shore and Coggins, Longton (Stoke-on-Trent), Staffordshire, or Ridgway Potteries, Ltd. Either way, today's cup and saucer set was sold under the Queen Anne label, and the eagle-eyed will see that the cup's mark says Ridgway... Shore and Coggins closed down in 1966, but not before providing tea drinkers with gazillions of pieces of best-quality wares. As these labels are less-known outside of Britain -- taking a back seat to Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Spode, and others  -- the aware collector can find many Queen Anne, Bell, Colclough, Adderly, or Royal Vale pieces for not so much money if she keeps her eyes open.

Note the perfectly egg-y Leigh shape! Regular readers of this weblog already know how much I adore the smooth, generous lines of the Leigh... on top of all that, this is a larger cup which holds about eight fluid ounces (vs. the more common six), so I would call it a Breakfast Cup. Trix has a pair of these sets and we do enjoy using them in tandem sometimes, although we usually prefer to enliven the tea table by using different sets of teaware altogether. Life, being short, needs all the variety we can squeeze into it... but I digress.

Other than the hand-applied gold on handle and edges, there is no hand-painting on this set -- it is a thoroughly modern polychrome transfer which looks good with so many other patters and styles. Admittedly, this is the sort of design you are either going to admire or... not. I grew up with people who thought the absolute world of mid-century style, and after a long season of detesting the starkness and lack of doodads, I softened into quite an admirer (lucky for Trixie).

Today's tea: it MUST be iced, or at least mightily chilled, and a clear, clean Ceylon (as black tea from Sri Lanka is still called) sounds fabulous right about now... and, as if on cue, there is darling Trix calling me into the parlor for some, so I bid you a tea-stained and utterly fond farewell until the next time,
xo, Dustin

Taken from http://tdustinfannings.blogspot.com/