It is torrential rain interspersed with sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest.Forecast to be a drier and warmer than usual winter...it has been exactly the opposite so far...go figure!
Thanksgiving is this week, and we are looking forward to the official national day to be thankful for the many blessings we have. I don't want it to be only one day of the year, but I want my life to be lived in the attitude of thankfulness to God for His blessings!
November 20, 1947 Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip of Greece, in....as royal weddings go...a small and cost conscious post war ceremony. They had their 67th wedding anniversary just a few days ago....
The young couple...when they were engaged, and below...just a few weeks ago...a couple aging together....
I love this photo!..My teacup today is one of the few made for the wedding by Paragon, England. And it was another simple post war idea...another previously made design was reused with the addition of the wedding bell border added. Very simple...
The bottom bears the Royal warrants of Queen ElizabethII's mother Queen Elizabeth...wife of King George VI...and her grandmother...wife of King George V...Queen Mary. Pretty and simple. Robin's Egg blue was said to be the bride's favorite color at the time.
Wedgwood did a fancy and huge mug for their 25th anniversary in 1972 by designer Richard Guyatt which is quite spectacular. The trim is platinum and the mug is gorgeous!
They are very hard to find! I loved this one!
I don't have a more current wedding cup and saucer or mug, but I do have a Diamond Jubilee cup and saucer made for the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II ascending to the throne. I love the smiling portrait on that...
Isn't that lovely? I think it's a great image of a wonderful woman who has shouldered a tremendous job and done it with integrity and grace. Her image is surmounted with the crown and surrounded by the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland, daffodils for Wales and the shamrock for Ireland.
The teacup and saucer is bone china, made by Heirloom, England, one of the new small potteries to emerge since the last major consolidation and closing of potteries in the early 1990s. May they long survive and continue to make pottery in the UK!
Thanksgiving is one of the times I get out the old issues of Victoria magazine...this is the September/October 2008 issue, and I fell in love with this natural material wreath...
I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends, and don't forget to share...or at least think about...the many blessings we take so for granted. We are indeed a people truly blessed...don't let the negative get in the way of our appreciation for our many blessings! God is good!
I am joining these lovely blog parties....
Tea in the Garden with
Bernideen
It's Tuesday Cuppa Tea. I'm a bit late....had a back issue that kept me off the computer for a day....sigh....But I am here and sharing with the other wonderful tea related blog parties shown at the bottom of the post.
Did you know that you need to be a bit of a detective when collecting teacups? This is a pretty Paragon, England cup and saucer with hand colored enamel in a variation of the Indian tree design with a very unusual wedding bell border which is very unusual with this type of a pattern.
That's what began the detective saga. The teacup bears the Royal Warrants for Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth who are the mother and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, and that was what gave me the clue. The cup and saucer therefore dates from 1937 to 1952. Princess Elizabeth met Philip Mountbatten in 1939 and married in 1947. I actually found a reference to the design dedicating it to the Royal Wedding of Elizabeth and Philip so I knew I had been right. Isn't that fun?
There was a bit of history about the design choice as well. As it was wartime and skilled workers were difficult to find, and the wedding was planned in a relatively short time, the design was in fact recycled from an existing design, color changed and the wedding bell border added for the engagement. So...it's amazing what history may be in your teacups!
To see more info on the Princess Elizabeth Paragon teacup at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.
I'm joining the following tea related blog parties and others. Love Tuesday!
Teatime Tuesday
Ever wonder what a Royal Warrant is...and how you get it? I had a customer ask about it this week and also came across the question about Royal Warrants on a blog site participating in Teacup Tuesday that my sister site Antiques And Teacups participates in at antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com.
Royal Warrants were designed to represent patronage by the British Royal family. Originally the warrant even named the royal personage and meant that their wares had been purchased (or received from the company as a gift and approved) by the royal person named. An example of that is:
This teacup was made by Paragon and bears the Royal Warrant above identifying the item was made between 1937-1952. The mark is for Queen Elizabeth, affectionately known until her death as the Queen Mum, wife of King George VI and her mother-in-law Queen Mary. This teacup can be seen at Time Was Antiques at this link:
Paragon Teacup Chintz Center
Paragon got into serious trouble in 1930 by overstepping their position. Paragon had made the approved design for the christening of Queen Elizabeth II and were awarded the Royal Warrant. BUT without permission they called themselves Royal Paragon and were chastised for it. When they brought out this design for the birth of younger sister Princess Margaret they had to go back to Paragon and have let it remain until today.
You can see more of Princess Margaret china at Time Was Antiques at this link:
Paragon China
As to Royal Warrants today, in the late 1950s that strict application of the name Royal in a pottery's name was relaxed, and there was a proliferation of names with Royal in them which is a trend that continues today. Now, it just is a marketing choice and means they think Royal will give a bit of cache' to their china!
A bit cloudier and still cool here in Sequim. It was actually warmer in Juneau, Alaska than Sequim yesterday! How funny. Have a great day, stay warm and take time for a cuppa!
