The Hyper-specific Cup Plate

Did you know? Tea cups didn’t use to have handles!

Cup plates are coasters that provide a place to rest a tea cup while leaving space for a light snack. Teacup plates originated in England in the early 1800s, before the invention of teacups with handles, reached the peak of popularity in the US in the 1840s, and went out of fashion in the second half of the 19th century (presumably as the modern teacup-with-handle gained in popularity). Cup plates were a precursor of the very specialized dishes of Victorian era such as celery vases. The original use of the plates as a rest for the partially empty teacup that protected the tablecloth and the table surface, similar to the modern drink coaster, while the tea was consumed from the saucers, a part of proper etiquette at the time.

The really interesting part that Wikipedia fails to mention is that these cup plates seem to have been relatively inexpensive to commission, since everyone and their uncle seemed to have a custom one made. A case in point is the New England Quilting Association, which is still in existence. They apparently struck a commemorative cup plate possibly as long ago as back in the 1800s, possibly as a marketing tchotchke, or perhaps just as a gift to their members.

The photo of the blue cup plate was sent to us by someone inquiring about its provenance. We’re honestly not sure about how old it is, but it’s certainly possible that it’s over 100 years old, given the timeline of cup plate popularity. The image below was found on the internet, and is much more recent, but is still recognizably a traditional cup plate. Someone at the New England Quilting Association is clearly keeping the wonderful old tradition of custom cup plates alive!