I’m proud to offer yet another of the rarest Cunard china items that can be found. This exceptionally rare platter in the "Sea Shell" pattern dates to the late 1870's and straddles the time between when Cunard was privately held and became a publicly traded company in 1878. Versions of this pattern can be found with no company name in the belted logo which date to before the incorporation. Also seen are post-1878 examples, such as this one, with "Cunard Steamship Company Ltd" in the belt around the logo. A lovely pattern and, needless to say, very hard to come by. No chips, cracks, or crazing.
Measures 11” x 10” x 2". It is so exceedingly rare that years will go by before you see another piece at any price. What a centerpiece for your collection! $2,600.
Dating to the 1860’s, this pattern is commonly known by collectors as the “basket weave” pattern. This would have been used on Cunard ships like the Russia, China, and Cuba. Very heavy-duty piece of china. Back marked “British & North American Royal Mail Compy.” Produced by Bodley & Company, Burslem. Measures 8¾” in diameter. Impressed into the back is “Genuine Ironstone.” Aside from a few utensil marks, this is the best condition piece of this pattern I have ever seen. There is some blurriness to the pattern at the edge, but this is very common for this pattern and stems from the wet transfer-ware decal slipping as it was applied. Step up your Cunard 19th Century collection! $750.
A delft dinner plate as used on Lusitania, Mauretania, Caronia, and Carmania. See the archival at left for it in the second-class dining room of Lusitania. Measures 9½” in diameter. Made by Mintons and is dated on the back 1906. Has only the slightest utensil marks and two small rough spots on the edge that appear to be from manufacturing. Some blurring to the crown in the logo but otherwise in excellent condition. Much sought-after pattern. Variations of this pattern were used for about 25 years on Cunarders. $495.
This pattern was introduced by Cunard in the later part of 1913 or the early part of 1914. Used in first class from the outset on board Aquitania (see archivals at left on board Aquitania), this pattern was also used on the Lusitania and Mauretania. How do I know, you ask? Because examples of this were recovered from Lusitania in 1982 and a single photo exists of the pattern in use in her dining room.
It looks like Cunard revamped all the first-class china on at least its main ships at that time. It is often referred to as the "spider web" pattern. Interestingly, only a few dinner plates (which were likely seconds because they are missing the red part of the decoration) and oyster plates seem to survive. Serving pieces or cups and saucers from this pattern are unheard of. Made by Wedgwood and date marked 1913. Measures about 9" x 7" and in excellent condition. $295.
Pre-WWI bone-china demi-tasse cup and saucer as used on board the Lusitania and Mauretania. Made by Mintons and in mint condition. Note archival on board Mauretania. $245.
As an aside, I was talking to a customer of mine a few months ago, and he told me that when he was a tour guide on the Queen Mary in the 1970's, he was given a tour of the forward storage areas. One of the rooms he was shown was where all the remaining china and crystal on board was kept. He was shown a crate that was full of these cups and saucers in the original packing material. They were mint and had never been used. It seems that, when Cunard sold the Mary, a lot of the Cunard's surplus inventory was put on board simply to get rid of it. I've never seen any photos showing this pattern in use on board any Cunard ship after the first world war. It just goes to show that Cunard *never* threw things away....
Cunard (and the rest of the UK) went for the cube-style teapot in a big way in the 1920's. Cunard being Cunard, they were tradition bound and kept using the cube style for 60+ years, even as late as on QE2 in the 1980's. This hand-painted "bird of paradise" teapot is made of fine bone china and is in excellent condition. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Stands 3" x 3½" wide. $175.
Hand painted and part of the on-board service. Not souvenir. Very good condition with some wear to the red rim and a small hairline across one side at the base. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Stands 4" tall. $65
Sporting the Bird-of-Paradise pattern, this individual creamer is in near mint. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. About 3" tall. $50.
Large waste dish in the famous Cube pattern. Hand painted and happily near mint. Part of the on-board service. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Measures about 3" x 2". For some reason this dish is one of the hardest to obtain in this pattern. $65.
Small sugar bowl. Measures 2" x 1½" tall with some wear to the red rim. Part of the on-board service. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Excellent condition with some wear tot he red rim. $50.
Very hard to find luncheon plate from the Bird of Paradise tea service from the 1920's. In mint condition and measures about 8" in diameter. One of the harder pieces of this pattern to find. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Most people are looking for luncheon plates to complete their tea sets. $135.
Bone china hand-painted side plate in the “Bird-of-Paradise” pattern. Measures just over 6” across. Marked "souvenir" and purchased in the on-board gift shop. Produced by Tuscan china and bottom marked with the Cunard logo. Identical to the china used on board many Cunarders in the 1920’s. In excellent condition. No chips, cracks, or crazing. A quantity available @ $65 each.
Lovely tea cup and saucer in the hand-painted "Bird-of-Paradise" pattern. Marked on the bottom as souvenir. Excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or crazing. $95.
Sugar bowl in this rare "Cuckoo" pattern made by Mintons. It is much harder to find the "Cuckoo" than any other pattern from the 1920's. Measures 2" across x 1½" tall. Has just the slightest wear to red rim. $95.
Beautiful in its simplicity, this Cunard White Star demi-tasse cup and saucer by Mintons is a rare find. Unusual to see Cunard or Cunard White Star china with no pattern. Mint condition. $95.
It seems that this highly ornate pattern was made for and used only in the suites on the great Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Despite having poured over thousands of photographs of Caronia and other Cunarders, I have never seen this in use on any other ship. Given its expensive and exclusive role, I suspect this china saw little in the way of heavy service. Because of the low "casualty rate" during service, all the pieces I have ever seen are marked Cunard White Star. This cup and saucer is no exception. In very good condition with one hairline in the saucer which is not visible when the cup is in its rest. $365.
RESTOCKED!
Foley bone-china tea pot in the famous cube pattern. Measuring just about 4" square and standing 4" tall. Excellent condition. No chips or crazing in excellent condition. This is the larger of the two sizes of tea pots and is much harder to find. $265.
Foley bone-china tea pot, measuring just about 3¼” square and standing 3" tall. Excellent condition. No cracks, chips, or crazing. Some slight wear to the black line on the lid. Displays well as a set with the larger tea pot (if you've got one!). Note the archival of the tea set in use in Queen Mary's post-war garden lounge. It seems that these small tea pots were strictly for individual service, one per passenger. Note that both "passengers" in this publicity image have their own. $175.
SOLD!
The famed and lovely five-lobed dish by Foley. This example was made for use in the post-war tea set. These dishes are tough to find. In excellent condition, measuring about 6" across. $165.
Did you know this dish was also made in larger sizes? There is an even harder-to-find table-sized version that measures nearly 12" across.
Foley bone-china footed dish. Measures about 3” across the top and stands about 2” high. Very good condition. No chips or crazing. One of the harder Foley pieces to find and one of the most popular. Only one left @ $125.
SOLD!
Are you looking for that extra cup and saucer to complete your tea set? Here's a Foley bone-china tea cup and saucer from the post-WWII service of the Queens. Excellent condition. No chips, cracks, or crazing. $115.
Everybody loves a cup and saucer. This example made by Foley in the pattern used on the Queens is in the typical English style they call a "coffee can". In excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or crazing. One available @ $95.
Famous cube pattern individual creamer from Cunard's on-board tea service. Stands almost 3" tall and is about 1¾" square. Made from bone china and is nearly mint with no chips, cracks, or crazing. $45.
RESTOCKED!
Many collectors call this a "large creamer," but it is actually a hot water jug. Your tea was brought to you as loose leaves, and you poured your own hot water and you made your own tea. Note that this is what the woman in the archival photo at left is doing. This image was taken on the Queen Mary in the 1950's. Made by Foley of fine bone china, this hot water jug stands almost 4" tall and is 2¼" square. This jug is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or crazing. $75.
The cube Foley sugar bowl. Made of fine bone china. Excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or crazing. Measures about 1½" tall and is nearly 2" square. $45.
Although commonly referred to as a "large sugar bowl," this is actually a waste dish for your spent tea leaves. In the late 1960's, Cunard made the "bold" move of switching to tea bags. Such a "risky" decision! This waste dish is 2½" square and 1¾" high. Excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or crazing. $65.
SOLD!
Rare, rare, rare! Probably the rarest piece of the Foley tea service you'll ever see. Not too many of these show up probably because they were only used in the lounges for tea and not on deck. It seems that those pesky lap trays were just not big enough for them! Measures 8" in diameter. Mint condition. Not even the archive on the Queen Mary has one of these in its collection. If you want a complete tea set, this is a must have. $175.
The ubiquitous shell dish as used on the Queens. These filled many uses, apparently at the stewards' discretion. In archival photos, I've seen it used for olives, cashews, and lemon/lime slices. Measures 3½" across. Made by Foley. See photos for condition. A quantity available @ $35 each.
An on-deck cup of bullion. In my mind, at least, it is one of the hallmarks of British ocean-liner service. QM2 still provides this expected tradition to this day although you have to get out of your deck chair, walk aft, and get it yourself! Sadly, they do not provide nice quality double-handled bullion cups and saucers like this. For your next crossing, perhaps you might take this original bullion cup and saucer from the first QM with you and bring it along for another ride across the pond. In excellent condition. A small quantity available @ $135 each.
Have your morning brew just like I do in a lovely cup and saucer from the service of the Queens. Great condition. Coffee cups and saucers always move fast so grab it while you can. What makes this one special is that it is marked Cunard White Star. Don't see many pieces of Maddock with that name on it! Excellent condition with no condition issues of any kind. Note the coffee cup and saucer in the archival picture from Caronia. $175.
Desirable and hard-to-find coffee cup and saucer as used on the great post WWII Cunarders. This example comes to us from the Queen Mary. These coffee cups and saucers are quite popular, and in fact, just about any cup and saucer for just about any transatlantic line is quite collectable. In excellent condition. A small quantity available @ $95 each.
One reviewer said in the 1960's that the Cunard ships were getting old and no longer seriously contending for the title "finest in the world" but that you should go because the "Cunard service, Cunard cuisine, and Cunard savoir faire are more than 50% of the any battle -- so they're recommended in spite of these limitations." Freshly prepared Kosher meals on Cunard liners was part of that special "Cunard service." They went to great expense and care to provide the finest food for their Jewish passengers in a separate Kosher kitchen. Unlike some lines which served frozen, pre-packaged kosher meals, Cunard continued to cook everything to order. One bonus in collecting Cunard Kosher Maddock china is that the Kosher service is often older than other non-Kosher items. Less usage = less breakage. Measures about 9½" in diameter. In very good condition with typical utensil marks. Dating to the 1950's. A few available @ $85 each.
One of the hardest-to-find pieces of Maddockware. If, like Cunard, you had to serve appetizers to 800 expectant first-class passengers appetizers and do it quickly, these dishes were the answer to your prayers. The idea was to rapidly, but attractively, set four of these dishes on a tray to tempt an entire table. Each dish is numbered on the bottom as to where it goes on the tray. Once in the tray, the four dishes combine to create a square with rounded corners. In excellent condition. Measuring about 6" x 7". I have available all four pieces so you can buy a ready made set or just pick up your missing piece. (The last photo shows all four segments together. They are for sale individually.) $75 each.
Soup bowl as used on the Queens. Measures about 9" in diameter. Excellent condition. $35.
Side bowl as used on the Queens, Caronia, and second Mauretania. Excellent condition. Measures 6¼" in diameter. A quantity available @ $22 ea.
Unusual shallow plate made by Maddock. Excellent condition. Measures 8" in diameter. Three available (all dated 1965) @ $50 ea.
SOLD!
Crescent salad plate in mint condition. I really dig the shape. All the Maddock china is helpfully dated. I wish other firms had been as meticulous about dating the china. Some wear to the black band around the rim. $40.
Rare egg hoop from the post-WWII on-board Cunard service. Full Cunard logo inside. This pattern was used in both first and second class on all the major post war Cunard ships, including Mauretania and Caronia. A small quantity available @ $65 each.
SOLD!
Cunard went for Maddock china in a big way. The post war ships used it by the ton. Still it's getting tougher to find in good condition. Measures 7¼". Excellent condition. $25.
A very unusual find! A coffee cup and saucer in Cunard's "Greek Key and orange" pattern. What makes this so unusual is that it is marked Cunard White Star. Probably dates to the 1930's. With a gold band around the edge that indicates that it was used in first class. $145.
Cunard's "Greek Key and orange" pattern side plate. Measures 7" in diameter and, aside from a touch of gold loss, the item has no condition issues. $65.
SOLD!
There's silver, and then there's silver. This immense champagne bucket and stand was designed with a heavy base to keep it upright in rough seas. You can see in the attached archival image the same type of bucket and stand in use on Queen Mary. A 1947 inventory of the silver and china used on board Queen Mary interestingly compares the number of items on board with a 1939 accounting done just as she was stripped for the war. (As an aside it is surprising what went missing during the war which was far less than you might think. Of note for us is the fact only about 70 buckets and stands were ever on board, most being in the first-class dining room but some in cabin class, and the Verandah Grill). Because not everyone ordered champagne at once, these were moved around the room as needed. Thus the rarity of these buckets and stands today.
Together these pieces measure over 18” tall. The bucket is 8” in diameter at the upper rim and is 9½” tall. The stand is 13” tall. Both produced by Elkington. In the the pinewood pattern, the bucket and stand are each dated 1945. There are two dents and slight bends in the rim. Despite the heavy stands, these did tend to tip over in rough seas. Both of these issues could easily be fixed by a good silversmith although they are mild enough that I probably would not bother. Otherwise in very good condition with the usual nicks and dings from use. It's a massive thing, weighing about 15 pounds. The last time one of these came up for auction it went for over $6,000! My price is far more reasonable at $3,250.
SOLD!
Made by Elkington in the pinewood pattern and date marked to 1939. Stands about 4" tall. In very good condition with the usual use marks and a few dings to the lower rim. $75.
Mint-condition steward's table crumber. Such good condition, you can see your reflection in the pan. Made by Roberts & Belk. Measures 12½". An excellent addition to anyone's collection, especially because they are rarely seen in this condition. Just imagine the steward sweeping your table between courses. They still do this today on QE2. $235.
Silver mustard pot made by Chester. Measures 2" in length and 2" wide. The CWS logo on the bottom is worn but still readable. $55.
Made by Elkington and date marked to 1936. Probably from the original maiden voyage service of the Queen Mary. They measure just under 5½" in length and are in great condition with the usual marks from use. Although one handle looks like it is bent, it was actually made that way for better leverage when in use. Every pair of nutcrackers I have seen over the years from any line are made that way. $145.
Cunard White Star nut dish. A little over 5" across from handle to tip. The typical use marks. Not too often seen. Made by Elkington and date marked 1947 so most likely made for the postwar return to service for ships like Queen Mary or Britannic. $45.
SOLD!
A lovely set of silver salt and pepper shakers. Both date to the 1950's. One is Elkington and is dated 1959. The other is Chester. In very good condition with only a few slight dings and dents from use. $115.
SOLD!
A plain pattern Cunard White Star sugar bowl. Any thoughts on where this might have been used? Made by Elkington and dated 1948. Post war replacement stock or for use on Caronia due out in January 1949? Measures about 4½" across. In excellent condition with the typical use marks. $65.
A must have for a Cunard White Star silver collection, the Pinewood silver sugar shaker. Stands about 6" tall. Produced by Elkington and date marked to 1939. Very good condition with a couple of dings. Otherwise excellent. $145.
Cunard White Star sugar tongs made by Elkington and dated to 1948. They measure 4½" long. Nice logo on the outside of the handle. In very good condition. $75.
No messy maple syrup bottles or sticky glass diner style pitchers on the Queens. Your pancakes came out with your own individual silver syrup server. This is a rare item especially in this condition. Pinewood pattern and made by Elkington in 1939. $195.
Next to cups and saucers I find the biggest crowd pleaser in my ocean liner case to be toast racks. There is just something so attractive about them. This pinewood example was made by Chester. Not that common in fact the only one on display in the museum on board Queen Mary is broken! This example is in excellent condition save for one dent to a hoop. $225.
Silver service at the tableside was one of the highlights of travel in the golden age. Practically everything would be brought out and presented at your table as an extra mark of distinction (some high end cruise lines still serve this way today). Instead of hors d'oeures being brought out from the kitchen already plated they would instead be brought to you for table side selection. Meats were often carved at the table. In other examples your meal might have ended with the traditional flourish of Crêpes Suzette flamed at your table side. Silver table service was the function I suspect this pinewood pattern tray served. Although it is the right size to fill almost any role. Measuring about 9¾" in diameter this platter is small enough to easily display in your case. Made by Elkington and dated 1939. In excellent condition with one dent on the rim. $175.
Unusual silver sherbet dish made by Chester and dates to the 1920's judging from the Cunard logo on the bottom. Has some use marks but no loss of silver plate. Stands about 3" tall. $45.