If Teacups Could Talk ...

One of my all-time favorite tea books is Emilie Barnes' "If Teacups Could Talk." I often think of that title when I am pondering the origins of a newly acquired teacup.


At the end of a day of shopping with my mom this past Saturday, she asked if I had time to stop by a favorite antique mall, to which the answer is always, "Am I breathing?" The item that almost immediately caught my eye was this sweet little pale green cup and saucer. The design is actually on the left-hand side of the cup as a right-handed tea drinker is holding it and looking at it. This is one of those lightweight sets that feels as delicate as an eggshell, and it was, happily, also very inexpensive. The design features the Imperial Hotel in Hendersonville, N.C., one of those cute little mountain towns I visited recently. Maybe I saw the Imperial Hotel, or at least its original site?


Now, I ask you, precisely how did a cup and saucer set from Hendersonville, N.C. end up at an antique mall in Marietta, Ga.? The bottom of the cup is stamped "B.R.C. Racine Germany." The bottom of the saucer has a very blurry backstamp, but I can make out "Made in Germany for xxxxxerine Jewelers, Asheville, N.C." I asked my husband, "What kind of jeweler in N.C. was able to have cups and saucers made in Germany?" and he said, "One with money." So if teacups really could talk, you better believe I'd have a lot of questions for them!