Fairylite Foreign Cup of Knowledge Green Plain

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File:Fairylite-japan-cup-saucer.jpg
Fairylite Foreigh cup and saucer
Interior of the Fairylite Foreign teacup
Fairylite Foreign saucer
Fairylite Foreign backstamp
Original boxed set of Fairylite Foreign cup, saucer, and instruction sheet for tea leaf reading

Fairylite was a British importer of Asian-made novelties during the post World War Two era. They dealt in paper goods, playing cards, toys, and other small items. Depending on the nature of the merchandise, the items are either marked "Fairylite Foreign" or "Fairylite Empire Made."

Fairylite fortune telling tea cups were made in Japan for export to Great Britain during the 1950s, and the pieces were marked "Foreign," to signify non-English origin. The Cup of Knowledge made by Fairylight was an illegal knock-off or patent infringement of the original pattern from England. Specifically, this cup is a close copy of the Aynsley Cup of Knowledge Mint Green.

Here's how to tell them apart:

  • The colour of the Fairylite clay body is slightly greyish, typical of Japanese ware, but unlike British bone china, which is a bright white.
  • The quality of the transfers of the Fairylite playing cards is muddier than the English originals, with a yellowish tinge inside the cards.
  • Despite the attempt to closely copy a British tea cup shape, the foot of the Fairylite cup is amusingly Japanese, in a six-petal scallop shape.
  • The handle of the Fairylite cup is a simple c-shape with an inward curl; the Aynsley cup handle is in the more elaborate Doris pattern

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catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room

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