A to Z Anthology

As the Society no longer produces newsletters, we will post occasional items of interest here.
Topics will be chosen at random.
Your contributions are welcome.

H is for Handle (with care)

We turn our hands to this query: "I have a nearly complete collection of Blossom Time pattern with the exception of a cup and saucer which I have been on the lookout for, on and off, over at least 15 years. My eBay saved search has thrown up nothing in all that time.

"Can you please tell me if you know of any Blossom Time cups and saucers that exist and, if any do exist, why they seem to be so rare when other items in the range are so common?"

They do exist (see left pic). We suggest the answer to this puzzle lies in the handles which, while decorative, were not user-friendly. Nobody wants to spill scalding hot tea over themself, so the cups were probably withdrawn from production. The same fate befell items in the contemporaneous 1930s Jazz range (right).

TMOE notes: "The teapots dribbled and the solid handles of the cups were difficult to hold. The buyers' comments were not encouraging and the Jazz shape was eventually abandoned."

Get a grip on more Maling handles in newsletter 39. Knowing the shapes will help to improve your collecting skills.

"Even a tea party means apprehension, breakage..." - Virginia Woolf.

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