I went to an auction recently and I came across this lovely tea cup and saucer set. It had a wonderful design of a little cherub angel and pretty pink flowers. I thought that it was a newer piece, or a reproduction, until I turned over the saucer. To my surprise, it was made by the Albright China Company of Ohio. Albright China is another on the long list of pottery companies that began in Ohio, and have long since closed their doors for business. They apparently closed the manufacturing plant that made this china, in the early 1930's.
The pattern on this set is called ALR4, and was discontinued around 1925. It is so hard to believe that this tea cup and saucer is over 80 years old. I feel compelled to collect pieces like this not just for their beauty, but they also represent a piece of American history.
The idea for using cherubs for decoration is still quite popular today. You will normally see cherubs and angels highlighted during Valentines' Day, but they are also used extensively during the Christmas season. I think that it is quite wonderful to come across a set like this that looks so pretty, and is still something that people would appreciate today. Not all designs can make that claim. There are a lot of things from the 1960's and 1970's that would not be popular should they be used to decorate something made today. The mod colors used during the 1970's only recently have gained a following again, and even then to a limited group of people.
In this age of the internet, and instant notfication methods such as Twitter, and Facebook, it is refreshing to see something close to the century mark in age, that would still be popular if it were mass produced today. There is something kind of comforting in that thought!
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