{HISTORY}

Made by Buffalo China in the 1920s, this pair of antique demitasse cups features the Marian pattern, which was designed especially for tea rooms and apartment hotels. With its colorful array of flowers both on the interior and exterior, it is easy to imagine it in either location mingling amongst the floral tea cups and orange pekoe or being wheeled around on the beverage carts of luxury urban living. 

Although these two are not accompanied by their saucers, the green stripe around the rim and handle of each is a nice match for traditional green and white striped restaurant ware. So pretty, with their petite size and beautiful bouquets, each cup varies slightly in its presentation of the flowers, particularly in regard to the small clusters on the back and sides. That also makes them fun for mix-and-match tablescapes and tea trays set with a variety of vintage and antique dishware. 

In the 1920s distributor’s catalog, the Marian pattern was described as consisting of a large red rose with smaller flowers surrounding it. Today, we'd say this shade is more like a deep, dark, earthy pink rather than a typical red rose shade. Other colors include magenta, blueberry, pale grey, pine green, pale yellow, and raspberry. 

Buffalo China supplied a lot of interesting hospitality venues around the country during the 1920s and 1930s, including California's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Studios,  the Denver Country Club, Rainer National Park in Tacoma, Washington,  the Lake View Tea Room in Duluth, Minnesota, the Astor Hotel in New York, the Women's City Club in Boston, and the University of Maine at Orono. These two aren't associated with any one particular dining establishment, such as those, but it is fun to imagine all the different types of settings and cities in which these two could have been a part of. 

That's the extra joy of coffee time spent with antique restaurant ware. It's a giant dose of daydreaming along with a demi-cup of coffee. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Matching set of two cups
• Stamped on bottom with maker's mark and pattern name

{CONDITION}

In lovely  antique condition, these cups contain no chips or cracks. The colors on each cup are bright, and the designs are crisp and clear. Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Each cup measures 2.5" inches (diameter) x 2.25" inches (height) and weighs 4 oz.