My obsession

[Telynor]

I am, alas, a complete and utter junkie for tea things, cats, and Royal Albert's Old Country Roses. I've been steadily collecting pieces for quite a few years now, and have been begging my partner to let me have for a cabinet to display it all in. He refuses. So everything is in boxes still, as to keep it safe from marauding cats.

[Madeleine]

Royal Albert is very popular here too, and you're wise to keep it safely away from rampaging felines. A friend of my mother's has a set (of Royal Albert, not cats!) and several years ago had a cat - the tea-set was kept stacked on a trolley, and one day the cat was chasing a fly round the room, well you can guess what happened - carnage! Luckily it's still available.....

[Telynor]

Originally Posted by Madeleine

Royal Albert is very popular here too, and you're wise to keep it safely away from rampaging felines. A friend of my mother's has a set (of Royal Albert, not cats!) and several years ago had a cat - the tea-set was kept stacked on a trolley, and one day the cat was chasing a fly round the room, well you can guess what happened - carnage! Luckily it's still available.....

Good thing it didn't happen to me, or that poor cat would be in serious danger of being turned into a pair of gloves. RA has really come out with some superb teaware in the last few years. The pattern that I fell in love with is the English Chintz -- all roses, violets and forget-me-nots.

[boswellbaxter]

Oh, those are lovely. They would be totally wasted on me, though. Shame RA doesn't make a Coca-Cola set.

[Michy]

I have a fairly large set of Noritake china from the 1920s. I don't have it out on display (my curious are filled with my doll collection ) but in my new house I have, for the first time, enough cupboard space to at least have the dishes out of boxes!

[ejays17]

This reminds me of somewhere I visited when i was in the Blue Mountains (NSW) last year. It's a tea-shop whihc houses over 3000 teapots! The guy who runs / owns it was given his first teapot about 30 years ago, and people just kept on giving them to him, and it's gradually built up to the size it is now.

I bought my sister a cow tea-set when I was there - she collects all things cows, she refers to it as "rescuing" them from the shops. her 8 yo son has "forbidden" the family from increaseing her herd, he was most disguisted when we all gave her something cow-related for Christmas

[rockygirl]

Originally Posted by Telynor

Good thing it didn't happen to me, or that poor cat would be in serious danger of being turned into a pair of gloves. RA has really come out with some superb teaware in the last few years. The pattern that I fell in love with is the English Chintz -- all roses, violets and forget-me-nots.

What a beautiful set!

[Telynor]

Originally Posted by rockygirl

What a beautiful set!

About two years ago, Royal Albert released a special collection of teaware to mark their centenary. It started out fairly simple -- a cup, saucer, plate set to mark each decade, with elements of patterns that were popular at the time; there were also figurines and mugs as well. When I saw the English Chintz for the 1940's I pounced -- that was the one that I wanted, badly. I just loved the colours and overall pattern, and it wasn't at all obnoxious. The first 'extra' piece that they've released was the teapot, sugar, jug set. And now there are more pieces -- a cake stand, cake plate, sandwich tray, that I've added. I only take them out of the boxes for special occasions, like holidays, and then they are carefully put away.




If you can time it right, and be patient, you can find some real bargains.

[Michy]

I have to admit that Old Country Roses has never been a favorite of mine, but I used to see a variation of the pattern in department stores that I thought was really pretty. IIRC it had a wide band of some sort of green pattern (with shamrocks?) around the edges.

[rockygirl]

I was recently at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential House and Library. In the gift shop, they had replicas of some of the china of the First Ladies, mostly tea cups and saucers. Some of it was just gorgeous. I found myself wondering why I didn't collect cups and saucers, then I came to my senses and realized that as much as I loved them, I have NO ROOM for them.