Vintage Coffee and Kitchen Mugs

We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
Modern mugs, which are most commonly used for coffee or tea, likely evolved from beer steins. Larger than tea cups, mugs are generally defined as handled beverage containers made out of stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, or glass, serving...
Continue reading
Modern mugs, which are most commonly used for coffee or tea, likely evolved from beer steins. Larger than tea cups, mugs are generally defined as handled beverage containers made out of stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, or glass, serving approximately 12 ounces. Mugs are not usually included in formal china settings, whose tea or coffee cups are traditionally daintier. Besides their size, mugs are differentiated from tea cups by their insulating properties; they have thick walls and flat bottoms. The earliest drinking mugs date to the Stone Age and were carved out of bone. Ancient Greek ceramists attached handles to their drinking vessels, while early metalworking techniques allowed artisans to create bronze, silver, or even gold cups with handles for hot beverages. Wood was also used for ancient drinking mugs, but for obvious reasons, few examples have survived. Since ancient Egypt, jugs have been made into the shape of human figurines—similar objects have also been found in English archaeological digs from Roman to Medieval times. Modern-day “character jugs” came about in the 18th-century in the form of “Toby jugs,” first made by Ralph Wood and his fellow Staffordshire potters. This seated British character, known as Toby, had a hat with three corners that could each form a separate spout for drinking. John Doulton at Royal Doulton’s Lambeth art pottery took this concept and made his own line of political Toby jugs in the 1800s. In the 1930s, Doulton chief designer Charles J. Noke revived the idea of character jugs, but instead of showing the full figure, Noke's only featured the character's head and shoulders, like a handled bust. By the 1950s, Doultons’ character jugs included Dickens and Shakespeare characters, legends like Rip Van Winkle and Johnny Appleseed, and caricatures of Native Americans. From the 14th century to 19th century, when mugs were used to serve beer in taverns all over Germany, England, and later the United States, clever...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

Tupper Diva
Kristian McManus’ fresh, airtight collection of Tupperware catalogs and related ephemera from...
Feeding America
This archive of 76 influential American cookbooks from the late 1700s to early 1900s, assembled...
Newest

Best of the Web

Tupper Diva
Kristian McManus’ fresh, airtight collection of Tupperware catalogs and related ephemera from...
Feeding America
This archive of 76 influential American cookbooks from the late 1700s to early 1900s, assembled...