Tuesday, January 5, 2010

An instant Royal Albert collection


My mother has an uncanny ability to predict the gifts I want before I even have a chance to ask for them. For instance, not long ago I saw an interesting black teacup in an antique mall and remembered once reading that every well-decorated room should have at least one black object in it. Now I feel perfectly free to disregard decorating rules I don't care for, but I liked that one, so I decided I would look for a really pretty black teacup. Fast forward to Christmas Day at my mom's, and I opened a heavy box containing seven vintage teacup and saucer sets, including these five black ones. I'm so glad she shops for me at yard sales!

I had learned from reading Denise LeCroy's blog, Uniquely Tea, that Royal Albert produced quite a few series of cups and saucers, so I headed to eBay to see if there were perhaps six or eight designs in this series. Turns out, this Provincial Flowers series honored the Provinces of Canada and there are 12 of them! I found a great web page listing all the patterns (which were made from 1975-2001) and the provinces they represent. (ParTea Lady, which province did you live in when you were in Canada?)

All five are just beautiful, and I think my favorite may be this Alberta Rose pattern.

But I also like the Lady's Slipper one.

Of course, I've always liked Purple Violets as well.

And what about Fireweed? I recently learned of the Alaskan wildflower Fireweed, and I never would have associated such a beautiful flower with such a cold place!

Finally, the classic lily design (Prairie Lily) is gorgeous as well, and its colors are striking against the black background. And you know what else I like about these cups and saucers? The handles! They're not just pretty, they're super comfortable to hold. And now when I'm browsing antique malls and estate sales, I can be on the lookout for dessert plates to go with all of these!

13 comments:

  1. My mom grew up in Calgary Alberta so I may have to search for that one.
    Years ago,1940's, a decorator told my MIL the same thing about having something black in your room.

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  2. I've said it before - your Mom is a fab shopper. I've never seen this Royal Albert set before and I should be collecting it! I was a Toronto girl, so my teacup would be the Ontario Trillium. It is not only the provincial flower, but also the official symbol of the government of Ontario.

    Thanks for the link.

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  3. Oh my goodness...what a fabulous gift and what a terrific MOM!! I hope I can be that way to my daughter...Donna (IA)

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  4. Oh, how beautiful. Your mom is the best! Can I adopt her for a while?
    I think my favorite is the Prarie Lily. Although you know I love roses, there is just something so beautiful about the lily one.
    Love them!!!

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  5. That's splendid! :-) Way to go, Angela's Mom!

    Also - the wordle seems to look only at the current page.

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  6. Lucky you, Angela, to have such a wonderful and thoughtful mom! Would she be willing to have herself cloned? :-)

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  7. They are beautiful and you are right, the handles look really comfortable to use. What a treasure your mom found for you.

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  8. They are beautiful teacups. What a great Mom you have.

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  9. Beautiful pattern. I've not seen that before.

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  10. Ooh that Fireweed is gorgeous! You lucky gal - tea cup envy!!!!!!!

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  11. I'm sooooooooo envious of your cup collection. The very first teacup I ever bought was the Fireweed. I fell in love with the black beauty. After I got home from that trip, I realized I should have bought more. Why didn't I figure that out while I was there. Well, eventually I ended up with two Fireweed teacups and saucers and two matching salad plates and a teapot with the Alberta Rose. I think this series is one of the most beautiful in world of teacups!! Your mom is the best!!!! Congratualtions!!!!

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  12. I am in agreement with everyone here. What beautiful cups, and an awesome mom! I shop garage sales and flea markets too. A couple of years ago I picked up a similar cup in Seattle at an antique store. The stamp on the bottom is different from any of yours and the plate is black in the middle not white. I've posted a picture of it on my blog if you're interested in looking at it.

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