Tea at Trianon: Liberty Blue Dinnerware

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, July 3, 2023

Liberty Blue Dinnerware

From Miss Janice:

I just love the history behind this pattern. The Benjamin Franklin Federal Savings bank, established in 1925, commissioned the Enoch Wedgwood company, in Staffordshire England, to make special dinnerware to commemorate their 50 year anniversary. The result was Liberty Blue, made exclusively for the bank in 1975 and 1976. New account holders who made a deposit of $50 were offered a four-piece place setting. After the bank ended their promotion, grocery stores allowed customers to buy pieces with their grocery purchases.

Liberty Blue is a great addition to my china wardrobe as it pairs well with my red, white, and blue china pieces. The blue and white is timeless and classic and the scenes.

Liberty Dinnerware pieces:
~Teacup, Paul Revere
~Saucer, Old North Church
~Covered Sugar Bowl, Betsy Ross, Sewing the Flag
~Creamer, Paul Revere's Ride
~Teapot, Minutemen
~Coffee Mug, Monticello
~Dinner Plate, 10", Independence Hall
~Luncheon Plate, 9", Washington at Valley Forge
~Dessert Plate 7", Washington Leaving Christ Church
~Platter, 12", Governor's House at Williamsburg
~Platter, 14", Washington Crossing the Delaware
~Platter, 18" and 20", Declaration of Independence
~Round Vegetable Bowl, Frances Tavern, Scene of Washington's Farewell to the Continental Army
~Oval Vegetable Bowl, Minutemen
~Salt and Pepper Shakers, Paul Revere's Ride
(Read more.)