Valentine's Day Tea Things

I have been dealing with allergies this week... amazingly early, so didn't get a post finished, so am reposting one that was very popular for Valentine's Day from a couple of years ago...

I took advantage of a bit of sun in the sunroom where I was reading a couple of February Victoria magazines and 2 books I have of Victorian ephemera, and thought...looks like a post to me!

It seemed so serendipitous...sitting there with all the elements...

the Valentine small tea cloth I had made a couple of years ago already on my little tea table...

And having been perusing The Victorian Scrapbook by Cynthia Hart, John Grossman and Priscilla Dunhill...

a wonderful collection of Victorian era postcards, clip art or dcraps as they were then called, trade cards and all manner of wonderful Victorian images...

The chapters include

Home Sweet Home

Romantic Notions

a total of 7

As a cross stitcher, I thought this was fun... 

several pages form Victorian needlework magazines...

this page from 1887 includes a pattern for the spaniel that could be made in needlepoint, petit point of cross stitch...so cute!

And the first of my teacups...a Shelley...but you guessed, didn't you!

But today, 2 the same, but...NOT!

This is a Shelley in the Ripon shape, and in the Rose And Red Daisy pattern.

But...this is a quite rare one, because it has a matte black exterior...not glossy at all. The interiors are the palest yellow, which did not photograph well.

The cup and saucer has the number 13439, which the pattern books say was made between 1940-1966 when the pottery closed, and unfortunately not marrowed down in date. 

The /24 after the main number refers to the colorway for the pattern.  Remember, that...more later!

The other of the 2 hardback books is a smaller one, Victorian Book Of Love

Forget-Me-Nots

also by Hart, Grossman and Gill

This is also filled with Victorian scraps, postcards, images, calling cards and Valentines...

May Cupid's shafts by love imprest,

Smile sweetly soothing in thy breast

Inspiring ardent love for me

As pure and true as mine for thee...

Altogether, both books are feasts for the eyes,  especially if you love Victoriana as I do...

And on to the next teacup...or...is it the same one, you ask?????

No! Same shape, same black...only it isn't! This is a shiny black, not matte black like the rest...

Same pattern, right? Well sort of. This is also a pale yellow interior with the Rose And Red Daisy pattern, but this is called a combo because it also has the addition of the pink Beaded border, while the last teacup didn't have a border.

Shelley had a lot of leeway with patterns, I sometimes think that the artisisans making them were allowed to be a bit creative, or the designers tried different version to see which were the most popular.

I know I have seen many more shiny black versions that the matte black seen above since my first on in 1988.

The pattern number is 13439, just as the matte black version above, but notice the different secondary number.

This on reads /72 indicating although the same pattern, it is a different entry in the colors department. 

I LOVE Shelley...they kept such good records!

And the rest of my afternoon tea time reading this week...
Victoria magazines.

Should have gotten out my Wedgwood Embossed Queens Ware teacup with the magazine below, but already had the Shelleys out so...

A friend came for tea, and brought a package of Valentine Vanilla petit fours, so am sharing the leftovers on my family Noritake Revenna china...

Help yourself! A real treat! So thanks for joining me for Tuesday Cuppa Tea!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! 

Celebrate all the many people and things we love...

with a cuppa!