Spode Geranium

Last Monday, I was perusing the clearance section of one of my favorite outlets for new Spode, which happens to be called Tuesday Morning, and stumbled upon this beautiful dish.

I had seen it in the store before the quarantine, and had wanted to buy it, but it was $43 so I decided to wait until it went on clearance. (And I was so glad I had waited!) 

This particular pattern is one of my favorites, partially due to the lovely geometric border around the dishes. It is striking, and quite different than the borders on the other Spode patterns I have seen, so I decided to do some research and see if I could find out the history of the pattern. 

Here's what I found out. 

The Geranium pattern was first introduced in 1820. This fact is probably not new to anyone who has looked at the back-marking of a new piece Geranium patterned Spode, but what you might not have realized is that this pattern is, in fact, quite different from anything that Spode had produced up to that point. Before 1820, Spode produced may patterns, ranging from the Chinese "Willow" pattern and the vastly popular and prolific "Blue Italian",  to the more obscure "Caramanian" and "Tiber" patterns. 

From what I have been able to find, all the previous patterns have been scenic in nature. Even the Indian pattern of 1815 features  large, sprawling bush, set on a small patch of grass. The simplicity of the geranium sprig, and the clean, almost modern lines of the geometric border are strikingly different. In his book Antique Blue and White Spode, Sydney B. Williams agrees that this pattern "has an entirely contrasting appearance to all those which preceded it."*

Perhaps this is why it is one of the designs Spode has decided to manufacture again. To be honest, I have never found an old piece of Geranium, but I do have several pieces of new Spode Geranium in my collection.

Pictured above are my new purchase, which I must admit I don't know what to call... (If you happen to know what this dish is called, please leave a comment below!) my Pasta Bowl in the front, and then of course there are two spice jars. 

Interestingly, as I put all my Geranium pieces side-by-side, I noticed that they are not all the same. I knew that some Spode collections, like the Caramanian and Zoological collections, have different pictures on each plate, but I was startled to see that this pattern had two distinct types. 

My recent purchase as well as the "Mixed Herb" jar, feature the same basic geranium, but in much darker shades of blue. The Pasta Bowl and the "Rosemary" jar are so much lighter, I thought they were different flowers at first.

The borders also are different, although if you look closely, it is mostly a matter of scale: The darker two pieces have the same design elements, just smaller and closer together. In the lighter pieces, the shapes are stretched out, and not condensed like the others. 

From the back markings and some additional research, I think the most recent generation of Spode Geranium is the darker style, while the other is older, but not significantly. All the Geranium pieces in my collection are marked dishwasher and microwave safe, which means they are quite recent.  

*p. 182

Tea for One: The Inadvertant Revival of a Historic Tradition

These are strange times we live in. As I write this, I have just finished up a day of "working from home", which, as you might imagine, is quite a strange thing for a teacher. I have been so thankful for the support of my school's leadership who have shown great ingenuity and commitment as they have worked out the best way to handle the current school closures in our state.

In all this strangeness, one thing I have noticed is that all the upheaval at the societal level has caused me to have a greater appreciation for the little things in my daily life that I can still enjoy. Of course, one of them is the opportunity to enjoy a nice cup of tea in a cozy chair. Add a blanket, some relaxing music, my favorite fountain pen, and a journal, and life could hardly be any better! As it is, I don't strictly have to enjoy tea time alone, since I live with my parents, but when I'm writing, solitude is somewhat necessary.

My family has learned that when they see me with a tea tray, brewing a pot of tea and filling my tiny cream jug, they're not likely to see me for a couple hours at least. (Except if I come out to refill my teapot.) My mother has a Royal Albert "tea for one" set in the Old Country Roses pattern that I've been using. It's very lovely, and holds just the right amount of tea for a good hour of writing. I have enjoyed using it, but the cup is a bit shallow, and the rim is very thick, which I have found oddly distracting.

Besides, lovely as it is, it just isn't Spode.

And so, collector that I am, I placed on my Amazon wish list several months ago a "tea for one" set in Blue Italian. I couldn't quite justify spending enough to buy it new, but I figured I would set aside some money for it eventually.

March arrived, and my dad began to make cryptic comments about my birthday present. As the month wore on and my birthday drew nearer, he began to impatiently wonder when it would arrive, saying it had gotten stuck in customs or something because it was shipping from England. (This was a big tip-off to me that it would be Spode.)

Finally, it became apparent that it was not going to arrive, having gotten stuck in New Jersey, of all places, until the time had expired and it would be sent back. --I still don't understand exactly what happened with it, but as my birthday came and went amidst social distancing and stay-at-home orders, I was able to at least be happy that my dad had thought to get me such a thoughtful present.
(He had told me on my birthday what he had ordered, since he couldn't actually give it to me then.)

Today as I prepared my lunch, I caught sight of a delivery man coming up our front steps. He rang and took my name in lieu of having me sign for the package (another adjustment due to virus precautions). It was addressed to my dad, but he had no idea what the package could be. When he opened it we found, to our great surprise and delight, the very item he had ordered! Somehow the shipping company had been able to spring it loose from customs before the deadline, and it had at last arrived.

I opened the distinctive blue Spode box, and there before my eyes was the very "tea for one" set I had been wanting!

-I tried to get the link to the set on Amazon or Spode.com, but neither website is carrying them at present. --My theory is that my dad got the very last one!

So now, I can put some home-backed scones on a Blue Italian bread and butter plate, fill my little teapot and shut myself in my room to write to my heart's content!

All this has gotten me thinking about the tradition of taking tea in the afternoon, and I realized this week that I have inadvertently begun to make a habit of it, although I take my tea quite a bit earlier than the traditional 5:00 in the afternoon when I'm at home. There is just something relaxing and refreshing about taking a few quiet minutes to have a tasty, aromatic cup of tea and a bite to eat, shutting out for a few moments all the clamor and drama of the world outside. It helps me to clear my mind and reenergize myself for the next task on my list.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on tea and its traditions, particularly in English culture, as part of a story I've been chipping away at the past several months. I hope to have a post up soon with a brief history of the traditional British afternoon tea. I'll put a link here when it is finished.

But for now, just remember that the greatest crises help us to appreciate the existence of the "ordinary". When the chaos passes, may we find ourselves looking back with gratitude on this time of hardship, in which we are forced to take time to savor the small delights life still affords.