Children's Tableware

1920? Coordinated set of nine tin tableware implements. German? $80 from Claudia and Waltraud Pressler, Ellhofen, Germany, Sept., '01. There is even a strainer to hang on the wall rack. The set, with a grey background, features three motifs in red-and-black coloring: TH: The hare reads the paper while the tortoise trudges by. FC: The crow in a tree holds a large cheese suspended above the fox's mouth. FS: The fox raises a paw to a tall bottle in which the stork has his beak.

1910? Six Tin Tea Set Plates. Each 5.5" in diameter. FC, FS, OF, and WL, with extras of OF and WL. $45 each for three from Ray Hanson, Garland TX through Ebay, Feb., '99. Three further plates from another source at another time. The curved edge of each, almost an inch in width, has a green, gold, and red pattern. Then in the center is a multicolored illustration. OF is the best preserved of the original set; it seems to lack the pock-marking of the other two. All three show some rust and staining. They may have spent some serious time in someone's attic or even sand-box! FC is the most worn of the later three. In fact, OF and WL are in very good condition. What a great and curious find! FS: Here the disgruntled fox stands away from the stork and his vases and looks at the viewer. OF: The composition of the design balances the two main animals, frog and ox, nicely. In a moment, this scene will not be so placid! WL: The wolf towers over the lamb. A viewer who wants to check can find that the water is indeed moving from the wolf to the lamb. Another pleasing composition! FC: The fox already has the cheese well in control under his paw. Might this be the place where, in La Fontaine's version, the fox is telling the crow that it is worth a cheese to learn that flatterers exist at the expense of those silly enough to believe them?

This tray may or may not belong to the set. It has the same theme of floral patterns in front of a bright red background. It features FG. 11 3/8" x 7½". Whether through scratches or just age, the metal shows through the painted design at a number of small spots on the upper surface of the tray. $65 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.

Two such FS saucers, 3 3/8" in diameter, match the cups just above. Two exemplars. $12 each from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.

These two FS cups, 1½" high, are identical. $12 each from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.

This FC saucer, 2¾" in diameter, matches the cup just above. $15 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.

This cup, 1½" high, has its handle and features FC. $25 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.

This WL saucer, 2¾" in diameter, matches the cup just above. $15 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.

This cup, 1½" high, features WL but it has lost its handle. It has "Germany" printed near its seam. $12 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.

This version of the same DLS cup, 1½" high, kept its handle but received some dents along the way. This cup has "Germany" printed alongside its handle. $12 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.

This handle-less cup, 1½" high, shows DLS. The DLS scene is surprising in that the donkey is moving left in the left half of the panel, and the sheep in the right half are moving right. $36.99 from Jo-Ann Deacon, Hamilton, Ontario, through Ebay, Feb., '00.

This teapot, just over 2" high and with a handle going even higher, is missing its spout. It has the same FS scene as above, though some heavy rust obscures it. $5 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.