We worked outside yesterday because it was very warm – one of those lone warm days in the midst of much cooler temperatures. There was lots of raking going on, especially of fallen pods from the catalpa and all of the Item 4 (gravel) that was tossed on to the grass by the snowblower. We were tuckered out. We’re not used to that kind of activity!

Here we go:

Bucket egg cups with the message: What came first, the chicken or the egg. These charming cups were a gift from my friend, Judy. The live on top of the egg cup cubby cabinet.

Four double egg cups from the Harlequin line, which was produced by Homer Laughlin Pottery, the creator of Fiesta Ware. They also live on top of the cabinet.

Two morning glory egg cups that I found at the Flea Market in Paris.

Two egg cups from the gift shop at Abbey Studios in London. I mean, how could I resist?

Two lovely egg cups from my cousin, Eileen. She was with her husband in an antique shop in Mississippi, saw them, and immediately texted the photos to me. Beloved family.

The first was made by Royal Stafford English Bone China in England. This dragon is one side, and some flowers are on the opposite side. The pattern is Dragon Blue.

A Peter Rabbit egg cup made by Wedgwood. There’s a large group of these delightful Beatrix Potter egg cups out there. Still available.

More tomorrow. We’re winding down the tour as we head toward Easter.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Oh, Spring, you are slow in making your presence known. Let’s kick it up a notch, shall we? I need warmer temperatures and sunny days, okay?

I do see buds on the lilac and the daffodils are ready to bloom, so there’s that. A good sign.

Thank you for all of your kind comments on Don’s song. If you’re reading this and missed it, check Monday’s post for the link.

Okay. More egg cups.

Here are we are with the last of the figurals (don’t worry, I’ll be sharing the more traditional cups as well.)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

You all know the story by now. I’ll give you the condensed version. These are marked ©1939 Walt Disney Studios. They were probably for sale during the 40s and 50s. I also know they were the prize in some cereal boxes – in Canada, I believe. When I first started collecting, I purchased a book on egg cups that has been invaluable over the years. That’s where I first read about them, as well as how difficult they are to find. Pre-eBay, these went for hundreds of dollars each because they were so hard to source. My friend Nels, who passed away a few years ago, collected for years and he told me that he paid a quite a bit of money for his 8 cups. He was understandably frustrated that he would never recoup what he paid for them. It took me, I think, 17 years to find all of them. That’s the part of collecting I love – patiently waiting and watching. Anyway, at first they were too expensive, but the prices eventually came down. Even so,  I paid $35 for one cup and the rest were between $50 – $75. Doc, Dopey, and Bashful were my first finds and the collection held at 3 for several years. Next came Grumpy. Then I found Sneezy, Happy, and Snow White via a collector in Orillia, Ontario – my mother’s hometown. Then a few years later, I finally found Sleepy.

I love , love, love these cups. They’re charming, they remind me of my childhood, and they’re whimsical, to boot.

Now, we move on to more traditional egg cups. These are tall double transferware egg cups.

On the left – one of my very first acquisitions, a brown transferware egg cup by Mason’s Vista in England.

Center – a flow blue egg cup.

On the right – red transferware by Johnson Bros. in England.

On the left an egg cup from France that I found in San Diego when I was coaching the Summer Shakespeare Festival. The flowers are in my favorite combination of pink and aqua.

On the right, a cup I found in a local antique store. I have no idea who the maker was, but I really love it. It reminds me of Clarice Cliff designs. It has a lot of crazing, which just makes it better in my opinion.

More on Friday.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

I finally got some sleep last night. The past two days were really hard to get through. It rained yesterday and it’s very foggy today but I heard the peepers again last night. It’s so charming, they peep and the bullfrog responds. So we hear high notes and very low notes and it’s magical.

On the left, from Cottage Ware in England, a little house.

An egg cup with its own saucer that I found at the flea market in Paris.

From my friend Mary in England. It’s from Devon and it’s called Devon Ware. I love this one so much!

On the right, two very old egg cups marked Germany. Bluebirds. I love anything with a bluebird so I snapped these up.

On the left, my most expensive egg cup – but really, it’s priceless. Don bought it for me in Paris.  It’s tiny and quite beautiful. Very Art Nouveau in design.

There are more figurals coming but I have to take some photos this weekend. Because I’ve done these tours so many times, some photos have repeats of cups I’ve already shown, so I’m going to sort through what I have and haven’t shown.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.