Mug Shot Monday: Franciscan Desert Rose Tea Set

 

Technically, it's not a mug. But I don't think we need to be technical, do we? This is part of my Franciscan Desert Rose dish set. I had lusted after these dishes for years and years but (as you may have surmised by now) I don't need any additional dishes. 

First of all, even before I inherited most of my mother's dishes I had LOADS of my own. Secondly, given that my husband and I moved twenty times in the first forty years of our marriage, buying more dishes meant packing and unpacking more dishes OR (as happens too often) leaving them packed up for years when we don't have enough space to unpack everything...and then buying more because DISHES!!!

But one day in June of 2015, we walked into a thrift store and I saw this set from across the room. (Cue Giorgio Tozzi singing.) And I couldn't resist. They'd just gotten it in, I asked how much they were selling the set for and they told me a dollar a piece. Which is a ridiculous price. I took it all.

I've added to it since then--pitchers, casseroles, a butter dish, a coffee pot, a set of serving dishes. And yeah, some of it is currently in boxes and despite having enough of everything for eight people, I rarely have half that number of people seated at my table. 

But they make me happy. 

Franciscan Desert Roses was one of the most popular China patterns produced in the Twentieth Century. In the 1960s, it was chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy to be used in the White House. All the pieces I own were part of the original design that were made in California. Later sets were made in England and China.