Patreon-From-the-Land-of-Tea-Feb-2021-Category:Fairylite Foreign
From Mystic Tea Room
February 14th, 2021
In the Second installment of "From the Land of Tea," we take a sneak-peek look at an upcoming page that will eventually be on display at the Mystic Tea Room web site. As a Patreon supporter, you have access to thee page one full year before the public does.
- Patreon-From-the-Land-of-Tea-Feb-2021-Category:Fairylite Foreign
- Patreon-From-the-Land-of-Tea-Feb-2021-Fairylite Foreign Cup of Knowledge Plain Green
- Patreon-From-the-Land-of-Tea-Feb-2021-B. Shackman Cup of Knowledge Plain Green
- Patreon-From-the-Land-of-Tea-Feb-2021-Unmarked Made in Japan Cup of Knowledge Plain Green
Brief teasers for these pages are available to the public here:
- Category:Fairylite Foreign
- Fairylite Foreign Cup of Knowledge Green Plain
- B. Shackman Cup of Knowledge Green Plain
- Unmarked Made in Japan Cup of Knowledge Plain Green
The public teaser pages are lacking text and caption explanations as shown on this Patreon Preview Pages. They function as a links to my Patreon account. Patreon supporters at Tier 2 (The Selector) and above have access to the private pages. To read about and subscribe to higher tiers, please see my Patreon page here:
"It's All Ephemera with Cat Yronwode"
The finished versions of Mystic Tea Room pageswill be released live to the public in FEBRUARY 2022. To discuss this page and other Mystic Tea Room Patreon pages with me, join my private Patreon Forum here:
Private Patreon Forum for The Mystic Tea Room
Next week's Patreon Preview Page will be ready on February 21st, 2021. The links will be available to Patrons who have subscribed at Tier 3 (The Reader) and above. The Topic will be Your Wate and Fate.
Today we are going to look at the output of the Fairylite company.
Fairylite was a British manufacturer and also an importer of Asian-made novelties during the post World War Two era. They dealt in paper goods, playing cards, toys, games, and other small items. Depending on the nature of the merchandise and the place of manufacture, the items are marked "Fairylite Made in England," "Fairylite Foreign," or "Fairylite Empire Made."
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Fairylite Foreign
"Foreign" is an old British legal mark for imported porcelain. It was used at a time when the specific nation of origin was not required to be placed on each piece. The Fairylite Foreign mark is only found on porcelain tea leaf reading sets.
"Foreign" is an old British legal mark for imported porcelain. It was used at a time when the specific nation of origin was not required to be placed on each piece. All "Fairylite Foreign" goods were made in Japan, and all were marked "foreign" with an underglazed backstamp. The same products were also made for export to the United States, but with other brand names.
Fairylite Empire Made
"Empire Made" is an old British legal mark for imported goods that were made outside of Britain, but in a nation that was part of the British empire (later the British Commonwealth). The Fairylite Empire Made brand is found on a variety of paper and plastic goods, probably produced in Hong Kong. The same products were also made for export to the United States, but with other brand names.
Fairylite Made in England
Most of the Fairylite products made in England were printed paper goods, paper and chipboard games with plastic markers, or plastic puzzle games.
The Fairylite Cup of Knowledge
All Fairylite Foreign porcelain tea leaf reading sets were made in Japan, and all were marked "Foreign" with a paper label. The same products, from the same factory, were also made for export to the United States, but with other label names. The B. Shackman brand used the same instruction booklet that Fairytlite Foreign used, without the Fairylite name. Both were unauthorized copies of the booklet made to accompany the Aynsley Cup pf Knowledge. Because the English Aynsley company used a spurious Asian type font and dragon motif for its product, it seems justly ironic that an actual Asian pottery company stole the designs for use on pieces that they exported to England.
The Fairylite Wheel of Knowledge
The most interesting of the "Empire Made" goods -- for our purposes, at least -- is the Fairylite Wheel of Fortune and Knowledge. The logotype, dragon design, and box layout for the Fairylite divination roulette wheel is the same as that used on the Fairylite fortune tellng tea cup. This is a little plastic roulette wheel spinner, 4 inches in diameter, with 52 pockets, each marked with a different playing card. Turning the turret puts a tiny metal ball into play, and when the wheel stops its spin, one card has been selected, which gives the user a daily fortune. The Fairylite Wheel of Knowledge is a miniature roulette wheel contained within a 4 inch diameter bright green plastic case. You can read more about it and other Fortune-Telling Wheels and Spinners at my Your Wate and Fate web site.
The Fairylite Pocket Patience Game
The Fairylite Made in England Court Card Pocket Patience game is a "15" puzzle in which card suits are employed as markers. Its design is art deco, with no fontographic references to Asian motifs.
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room
