Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The temperature has dropped rather dramatically, as often happens in March. It’s lovely and sunny, though, so I’m happy. I have a few more egg cups to share with you today and on Monday. And then, I think we’re done! I love getting reacquainted with my collection, so this annual event is good for me, too!

Here we have some single egg cups.

From the left:

A lovely little wood and porcelain cup with pretty flowers on the rim. Made in Japan. Most importantly, it was a gift from my mom. When she heard I had started collecting egg cups, she kept an eye out for them. I have several from her.

Next, an egg cup from Prague. (I have a square cup from Prague, as well.) Both are gifts from Don, who traveled to Prague several years ago to film an episode of The American Experience for PBS. He spent what little spare time he had sightseeing, of course, and looking for egg cups and a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in Czech. He never found the book, but he did bring home the egg cups and some painted eggs.

A lustreware egg cup in gold and blue.

A vintage piece of Spode in the pattern Chelsea Bird. There are beautiful bugs and butterflies inside the rim, as well.

A Delft egg cup from Holland. Another sweet gift from my mom.

I’m not sure where I got the first one on the left. Was it a gift, or did I find it somewhere? It’s a lovely blue and cream cup.

Next, a plastic Art Deco-style cup that I found at the flea market in Paris.

Another egg cup from Paris, one with a red transferware pattern and open on both ends. It wasn’t until I returned home and started researching it that I discovered it is a diabolo style egg cup. Eventually, I saw a collection from a woman in France who has scads of this style cup and I was eager to start a separate collection of transferward diabolos, but most of them are sold by people living in France and the shipping charges are way too expensive. I’ll just be happy that I have one of them.

And a blue and white cup of unknown origin. It’s extremely heavy – most likely made from stoneware. I purchased it, but that’s all I remember about this one.

More on Monday.

I’m getting out the fabric eggs today. And my piece by Vintage by Crystal.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

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.