H97.101.15

The cups and saucers in this collection come from Della's Tea Cup Cafe, 7309 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, which was established in February, 1967. The cafe is noted for, and decorated with, a very large collection of tea cups. Some of the cups were purchased by the owner, others were presented to her as gifts, while still others were made for her. A: cup is ecru colored ceramic which has been hand painted over decals; a butterfly on the reverse and a Cherry Blossom branch, in green, red, white, and mauve, on the front. The lip is decorated with two stripes, in orange and burgundy, and the handle with a single orange stripe. The cup is cracked approximately 1/8 inch to the proper left of the butterfly from the lip to 1/4 inch from the bottom, where the crack extends outwards in two directions running parallel to the base. The bottom is marked in red paint: "2,115,N." The saucer matches the up in material and colors, with a large Cherry Blossom branch decorating its lower half and a small yellow butterfly in the upper left area. It also has two stripes, orange and burgundy, along its edge. The bottom has a pressed manufacturer's mark: "Copelan"?, a number in red paint: "2/115 C," and an adhesive label: "11X." The donor said about this cup: "Way back in Georgia somewhere, one of my customer's mother bought me a cup and I told her just because it's old doesn't mean its antique. An antique has to be one hundred years old. They was trying to figure out [how to mail the cup] and they kept on writing and saying we're trying to get it to you. They decided to pay the lady next door to pack it and mail it for them..." About the mark on the saucer Della commented: "Before there was a demand you didn't have to stamp it. But there seems [to be] a little something indented in there [refers to the "Copelan" mark]."

Used: Della's Tea Cup Cafe | Della Hardmon Guess | African American | Drinking | Lynn Neighborhood