{HISTORY}

Imagine this...

It's December in the 1960s. You are Christmas shopping downtown, scurrying from store to store in pursuit of the perfect gift. A blustery wind picks up flurries that tickle the back of your neck, sending shivers down your spine and through your coat. You look up at the sky and notice that the clouds are so low you could touch them, and so grey in color that they match the concrete. The weather forecast today calls for a foot of snow following patches of freezing rain and icy conditions set to begin in the evening.

After hours of searching through shop after shop, you still can't find the perfect gift. As the last store closes for the night, you give up, disappointed, and turn towards home and the 20 block walk to get there. The freezing rain starts earlier then expected and you instantly wish you hadn't forgotten your umbrella.

Up ahead, the yellow glow of diner lights catch your attention. You pop in for a bite to eat, for a chance to get out of the rain, and for a hot cup of coffee.  The waitress runs down the list of specials, takes your order, and in one quick relay returns with a red and white cup and saucer. It's filled to the brim with the most warm and comforting cup of coffee you've ever had, accompanied by the best piece of pie you've ever eaten. You relax into the diner seat. You shed your coat and scarf. You watch the snowflakes start to fall. Christmas music is playing on the juke box. The diner is alive with laughter, with joy, with scents of a hundred different meals selected by a hundred different eaters.  And in that moment of warmth and relaxation, of light and life, you realize this is the gift. This moment is the gift. The perfect gift. This coffee and this pie. This place and these people. There's no more need to search. This is it. The warmth of coffee, the sweetness of pie. The simple joy, the lasting memory, all mixed up together on a snowy 1960s December day. 

There is a lot of creative license in the backstory of this particular cup and saucer, but at its very core, there's a lot of truth too. This cup and saucer duo have been warming spirits in one way or another since they was first made in the 1960s by Homer Laughlin for their Best China hospitality line. 

With an airbrushed cranberry red stripe around the rim on both the cup and the saucer, it's a fitting color palette for the candy cane season, but it has year-round appeal too. That's thanks to the saucer.  The cup was made in December 1967, but the saucer was made a made a few years earlier in March of 1961.

Whether these two become your all season favorites or a highlight of your holiday collection, one thing is for sure... this set has been sparking conversations, and inspiring perfect meal moments for over 60 years. And they are ready for another 60 more. 

That's what makes collecting vintage restaurant ware so much fun. The who, what, when, where, and why of great storytelling are ever-present, always, in old heirlooms that used to dine and dash their way around 20th century eating establishments.

All those possible restaurants, all those anytime breakfast, lunch and dinner hours, all those cities and towns and late night reservations and parties of five or six or one are all here,  wrapped up in one endless story of a simple, single 1960s cup and saucer. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Matching cup and saucer set
• Each piece is stamped with the maker's mark and date code (1967 for the cup, 1961 for the saucer)

{CONDITION}

In beautiful vintage condition, this cup contains no chips cracks, spots or stains. The galze is shiny and bright on both pieces.

{SIZE}

The cup measures 3.75" inches in diameter and the saucer measures 5.5" inches in diameter.  Together, this set weighs 1.3lbs. 

{FOR THE LOVE OF RESTAURANT WARE}

Find a complimentary red floral restaurant ware cup and saucer that pairs beautifully with this one, here. Find more vintage restaurant ware in the shop here.