Royal Doulton Teacup & Fall Spices

Teacup Tuesday 15 October 2019

Now that it’s feeling like fall at our place, my neighbor’s little Royal Doulton teacup and saucer are really speaking to me! Today’s Teacup Tuesday offering is a lovely transferware duo in soft fall colors. Perfect for spiced something, don’t you think? I love the fall spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice – especially if they’re in some fresh apple cider, let’s say. Hot fresh apple cider! That would be great in a teacup, right? Hop over to MANTELandTABLE.com or click the link in my profile to get more info on this little charmer. Whether or not it feels like fall at your place, I hope you have a lovely Teacup Tuesday!

Extra Teacup Tidbits

Fall always gets me excited for all the cozy warm cool weather experiences. Crackling fires, leaves in my flower arrangements, pumpkins, tea, and spiced cider, of course. And baking.

As soon as I saw this beautiful cup from my neighbor’s collection, I thought of all the things I could bake. For instance, spice cake would go well with some tea in our Royal Doulton teacup.

And then of course, it was just a step to imagining the room. We would have our spiced tea and cake in an airy, but snug and cozy library. A warm wood floor with a spice colored rug. Black, white, and chestnut furniture, and white marble-topped tables. Textured cinnamon throws and pillows, and chocolate velvet draperies. Beautiful soft colored fall flowers in vintage urns, and piles of fall fruit. Birds twittering gently just outside the window.

Ah I can picture it now! This Royal Doulton demitasse tea set would be on the coffee table by the fire. We could sit quietly sipping our tea (or cider,) eating our cake, and reading. We’d break off to discuss, whenever one of us got to a particularly interesting or funny part. Sounds like a fine afternoon to me!

Royal Doulton Teacup ~ Manufacturer’s Info

As I always say, the history of English potteries is like a very very long-running soap opera! The ancestry of our Royal Doulton demitasse is no exception, so here we go!

John Doulton left his job at Fulham Pottery, and in 1815 with two partners, bought into another pottery. Over the years, they changed the company name and management several times, and partners came and went. At one point three of John Doulton’s sons owned three different potteries, but in 1854, they all merged back together and took the name Doulton & Co.

They were issued a royal warrant in 1901, which meant they could use the name Royal Doulton. Then followed many years of acquiring, selling, splitting, and merging. Unfortunately, as with so many, Royal Doulton went into administration (bankruptcy) in 2009. However, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, and Waterford reemerged together as WWRD Holdings Ltd, and in 2015 Fiskars Corp acquired the whole lot! Whew!

Royal Doulton Teacup ~ Artist’s Info

I was intrigued by the prominent inclusion in the backstamp of the pattern designer’s name. Though I’ve never seen that before, a little research turned up the fact that it was pretty common during certain periods.

James Cutts seems to have been one of the first to actually hold the title “Artist.” And his name was still important enough 100 years later, to warrant printing it on the pieces. His history, and the history of the rise of designers/artists generally, is really interesting. If you want more on the topic, click HERE.

Our pattern is Hampshire, number D-6141. And according to more research, our Royal Doulton teacup and saucer are about 70 years old, made about 1948, out of stoneware. My teacups are usually porcelain china, like the one in this post, so I was curious.

The distinction between stoneware and porcelain china sometimes sounds vague. But I bet most of us can tell the difference just by looking at it and holding it in our hands. Officially, porcelain china is made of a clay with finer particles and fewer inclusions. It’s translucent and white, whereas stoneware is a heavier clay. It’s opaque, and often colored because of material inclusions.

Royal Doulton Teacup ~ Behind the Scenes

Behind these scenes, were two marble tiles! I love our kitchen, but it’s not necessarily the best background for photographs. However, since I was doing my photography at night, the kitchen was as good a place as any!

Plus I wanted the black counter top, to fit in with my Royal Doulton Teacup Fall Spice vibe. And I guess it worked, because now I feel like having some spiced cider! Happy Fall Everybody!

Teacup Shopping

If you love teacups as much as I do and want to start or add to your collection, Click HERE for the Shopping Page. Then scroll down and click on the picture of the teacup.

Also check out the China section in the shopping page, as I found a few non-teacup pieces too!

Have a Lovely Teacup Tuesday!

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