Here's where I ask knowledgeable people for information. I found this during an antique store trawl this weekend (apologies for the quickie snapshot through glass) : It's a scrollwork shaving mug which takes a liner. I'd never seen anything like it. I doubted it was actually a shaving mug, but internet research after I got home shows that it was indeed a thing. I didn't get it out of the cabinet but I don't think it's silverplate; I could be wrong. I'm guessing these were originally Victorian-era? Somebody educate me. I didn't get it but it's eating at me, especially with that old Stanley brush in the handle. EDIT: After researching some more, this is probably an ornate tea cup holder. I'm guessing it's been repurposed as a shaving mug, as many mugs are. The INTERNET tells me that "Podstakanniks" like this (usually much more ornate) are a big part of Russian tea culture, dating from the late 1700's. I suppose the style spread from there. Rather than Victorian, I'm guessing this one is more turn-of-the-century or Art Deco in style, if not in age. The more you know!
No, you were right the first time its a common home use shaving mug from decades ago. The insert is removable and its heavy and thick milk glass and hardly suitable for sipping tea . lol These are usually silver plate and you have to look out that the metal plate is still clean and not worn .
Thanks for stepping in, Mr. Hanzo. I thought the insert might be a retrofit, but I realized that a tea glass holder would have a different handle, reaching up the side to accommodate a tall glass. Thank you again for you knowledge and letting me know what to look out for.
I hear you. It is indeed $24, and there was a spirited internal debate. I didn't need to spend any more money that day, and I try not to buy anything "just because." I'm more of a functional shaver than a collector. I thought I'd mull it over and maybe go back later. But there's a happy ending. I saw this in an antique store while visiting my mom, about two hours from here. (In Wetumpka, for my Alabama friends.) I kept looking at this picture and I finally folded. I told my mom about this cool thing I saw but didn't buy, and asked her to pick it up. I was going to pay for it, but my stepdad says it's my Christmas present from him. He's awesome anyway, I love him to death. Now I can't wait: I'll see them this this weekend for one of our many family Christmas celebrations and I'll bring this baby home. I'm stoked and will get some good pictures up ASAP.
Well, here he is, a gift from my stepdad after I saw it in an antiques store. I'm pretty excited. The milk glass liner which is whole without chips, but with fine lines which may be cracks or simply swirls in the glass. The mug has maker marks, so it appears to be silverplate and not tin as I'd suspected. As Hanzo suggetsed, there is some wear on the plating, particularly on the bottom. If the maker marks are authentic, they connect it to E&J Bass, which operated 1890-1930. The handle is separated at the bottom but I expect I can have a jeweler repair it. I might be able to do it with silver solder but I'd rather have it done right the first time. The brush is a Stanley Home Products of unknown vintage. Stanley Home Products was a home-based business like Amway or any of the hundreds of similar operations today. The bristles are fairly stiff and show little bloom, so I'm assuming it's boar and barely used. On the off-chance that it is actually unused, I may leave it that way. The soap in the liner is Colgate's Cup Soap, unused. I don't know much about dating it, but it's my understanding that the "cup soap" is earlier than the last formulation, and a good soap. It's just sitting in the top of the liner and would have to be grated or trimmed to sit in the bottom. I'll be using the soap in my regular mug. I'll probably reserve this mug for occasional use, when I want to class things up. If you know anything more about these things, please share! I feel the price paid for this was decent for the mug alone, so the brush and soap are gravy. It also came with a 1954 ball-end Tech. I've accumulated a small collection of those, as they seem to be included with every item that draws my interest. I'll be PIF or selling those off one of these days. Thanks for looking.
