Antique Scuttle Shaving Mugs

At the fleamarket two weeks ago, hubby and I came across some shaving mugs. There were eight different ones and the dealer happen to see us looking at one. He offered it to us for a small discount, but I told hubby we'd pass.

Then the dealer said something that caught my ear. "Bundle." I asked him if he was interested in bundling the shaving mugs together for a better deal. The price he gave us dumbfounded me. It was a opportunity I couldn't pass up since I sell on Etsy.

We purchased all eight shaving mugs. The ones I want to show you today are the scuttle shaving mugs.

This one is a nice shape and has lovely orange flowers on both sides. It is unmarked.
This one is so pretty. It has been repaired on the bottom and is also unmarked
The above shaving scuttle mug was Made in Germany and is hand painted.
A beautiful shape and a lovely pink rose on the front. Victorian era.
The one is English and is an unusual shape. I am still researching it to see if I can find out more.

A Little History on Shaving Mugs

Scuttle mugs were first used in the beginning of the 19th century. The first patent for a scuttle mug dates to 1867.

Scuttle mugs were popular. Hard soap was placed in the soap dish portion of the shaving mug. The holes allowed the water to drain off the soap and the excess water was poured off through the mouth of the scuttle. When the person was finished shaving, the shaving brush was placed handle first into the scuttle for drying.

There are a couple of shaving mugs in this lot that I hate to part with because of the lovely hand painted flowers and the history of the mugs. The Victorian one is especially hard because my great-grandfather had one that shape and style. I can't remember any picture on it. I believe it was pure white with a bit of gold trim.

I wonder if these shaving scuttle mugs could talk, the stories they would tell. Who used them? What was their occupation? Did they have family? Any ideas of what they might tell us?

Cups and Saucer Collection

I have a collection of cups and saucers. I've had these for years and have enjoyed them.

The one above with the pointer is very unusual. I do love it though.
I especially like the ones with scenery. This one is so pretty with the stream and the trees around it.
The English thatched cottage is beautiful. I could actually live there without a care in the world. I would hire a gardener though, so my garden stayed as pristine as it is in the picture.

These are three of my favorites. I will share others another time.

A Wasteful Generation

I found this on Facebook and wanted to share

Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.

The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.

She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….

Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right. We didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Birds in my Yard

Since we've moved, I've been able to lure a few birds to my yard. A large evergreen tree hangs over the shed in the back yard. It is there that the cardinals come to rest. I don't see them often, but they are so pretty and when I do catch a glimpse of them, I'm delighted.

We have a pair of mourning doves that we put seed out for. Sometimes they come alone and sometimes they bring their friends with them. The most I've counted at one time were eight. I do like having them around.
We also get the odd blue jay. I love to hear these birds squawking and protesting. They will actually fight over the bird seed. They don't come as often as I like, but we do seem them a few times a week.
Birds bring color, song and beauty into the yard. I'm thankful for my feathered friends. I wish they would spend more time here. I'm hoping that this summer song birds will visit. I have to do more research to find out how to draw them. That's my winter project for this year.