Alfred Meakin Cup of Knowledge Royal Marigold
From Mystic Tea Room
Alfred Meakin, also known as A. Meakin, was one of the six British pottery companies that joined forces during the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 - 1925 to craft "The Cup of Knowledge" divination tea cups and saucers. After this time, Alfred Meakin teamed with the Lipton Tea company to produce fortune telling sets and a booklet about tea leaf reading marked for Lipton's. There are numerous variations to the booklet of instructions that came with this set. Paper stock and trim size are not consistent, but which run was earlier and which was later remains undocumented.
Alfred Meakin was the only pottery of the six that produced cups and saucers on a cream-coloured clay body that was not English bone china. That is, being a lower fired ware, the pieces to not "ring like a bell."
One pattern Alfred Meakin used for their Lipton "Cup of Knowledge" sets was known as Royal Marigold. The rich 18 k gold embellishment and the charming pattern of the flowers (which look nothing like marigolds) makes this set quite popular with collectors.
