My Grandmother’s Teacup ~ The Exciting and Beautiful Story

The story of my Grandmother’s teacup really is both exciting and beautiful! You can see the beautiful part, just by looking at the pictures. It’s a lovely flower design surrounded by understated blue and grey scroll work.

As far as the exciting part, read on! As always, we’ll start with my original Instagram post.

Teacup Tuesday 11 DEC 2018

Good morning Instagram friends! It’s Tuesday again and time for another teacup! I just love the soft flowers and antique wood of this vignette. It makes me think of a romantic garden room for afternoon tea – maybe on a misty early winter day with a fire in the hearth, and the smell of fresh flowers … Maybe a book and some bread and butter too … ! 
Hope you get some time to do something that makes you happy today! Till next time! 😊

My Grandmother’s Teacup Tidbits

This is my grandmother’s teacup. It was originally part of a set that she gave me a long, long time ago. I had a platter, creamer, sugar bowl, and 6 cups and saucers. I didn’t actually have the teapot, which I’ve never wondered about until now!

The Exciting and Funny Story of My Grandmother’s Teacup

I have a funny (maybe even exciting) story to tell you about my grandmother’s teacup, but it’s also a little sad. Especially if you love teacups as much as I do! But as usual, the mishap taught me a very valuable lesson.

Not long after I’d gotten this set, my then husband and I, (along with our three week old son, 2 dogs, and a couple cats,) moved to Arizona. My overriding impression of the Phoenix area was that it was hot! No really – VERY hot! I remember that once summer hit, I only left the house to run across the patio to the pool!

7 months later, we went back to Oregon to visit. By this time our son was crawling around and being adorable, and the family was frantic to see him. So off we went, and of course tucked up the house in AZ while we were gone. But – you guessed it – we turned off the air conditioning!

Or maybe you didn’t guess it! Only two people who had never lived anywhere but the temperate Pacific Northwest would not have realized you have to leave the air on in a place that hot!

We came back to find my grandmother’s teacup and the rest of the set smashed all over the floor! The shelf it was on didn’t have nails, only glue. And without the air conditioning, the glue melted! The shelves slid apart and it all came crashing down!

Of course, my lesson was Consider the Climate When You Go on a Trip!

But although it was a terrifying sight, it wasn’t really as bad as it looked. Along with the platter, I was able to salvage several of the cups and saucers. And one had escaped damage all together. This one! My grandmother’s last teacup.

Manufacturer’s Info

This set was made by Royal Albert. I’m really happy that they put the pattern name and number on their pieces! It sure makes it easier to navigate the forest of information out there! I wrote a previous post about another beautiful Royal Albert pattern, which you can read about HERE.

As we can see, our teacup and saucer are of the Fragrance pattern, number 839038. The company registered this pattern number along with the year of its introduction – likely in the 1940s.

Royal Albert also made a Fragrance series, which had six different floral patterns in it. Our Fragrance china though, wasn’t part of the series. Not sure why they named it the same – maybe just to give us something to think about 70 years later! If you’re interested, you can read more about Royal Albert HERE.

Behind the Scenes

As I said in my original IG post, this teacup always made me think of afternoon tea in a cozy garden room. When I saw these stocks (well smelled them, actually) at the store, I had to get them to go with the cup. The colors and scent just seemed to match up. And the moody lighting made me think of early winter.

As well as the teacup, the stand that I put them on also belonged to my grandmother. It’s pretty old and beat up, but I love the vintage look. My cousin actually had it for several years, and when she moved, asked if I wanted it. Of course, I did!

You can see the flower stems poking out the right hand side. Have I ever said “Thank goodness for photo processing” before? It was a little tricky getting everything to balance properly, because the shelves tip down and fold flat. That’s really nice for storage, but not so nice if you’re trying to put something on it!

But eventually, I worked it all out and made a lovely vignette to admire my grandmother’s teacup!

———- Shop My Grandmother’s Teacup Post ———-

Here’s the link to the Shopping Page – click HERE then click on the picture of the teacup!

Have a Lovely Teacup Tuesday!

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• Tuesday Turn About #91 – Hosted by Bluesky at Home