Teacups

lHand-me-down teacups l



ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Do you want to have a

tea party?









ZZZZZZZZZ

You will need teacups.

"At one time it was the fashion for intimate friends to send engagement presents in the form of teacups. A cup of tea was popularly supposed to be one of the conso­lations of spinsterhood. A teacup would therefore be an invidious gift until after the engagement, when its significance would cease to apply. " Emily Post

1800's. Generations ago in San Francisco, my grandmother (or perhaps even my great grandmother) and her beau announced the engagement at a grand party. Grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and close friends (whom we also called aunt) promptly rushed to Gump's to pick out their own favorite teacup as an engagement gift. But not from the china pattern the bride chose. That gift of china came later as formal wedding gifts.

1972. I actually received one teacup as a gift from my mother's twin. The twins, last of the socialites, knew the proper traditions! Fast forward to the present. An anniversary is approaching.
2005. Teacups were given after the announcement. A family tradition came to life after many years.

The torch is passed and the modern generation will make it their own.

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Sunny Morning (Watercolor by Nell Melcher)

http://www.nellmelcher.com/paintings.html