Those Magnificent Mustache Cups
by Pauline C. Peck
(Reprinted by permission of author)

    Victorian gentlemen were much concerned with sartorial elegance. Their starched wing collars, highly brocaded waistcoats (that’s vests in Victorianese), fawn-colored breeches, long morning coats and doeskin gloves were topped off with bowlers and other assorted elegant headgear. But the piece de resistance was a hairy topic in drawing room parlance. The real pride of the dandies was the masculine masterpiece known as the mustache! It was a must for Victorian gentlemen who were in tune with their times and were vying for the attentions of their Gibson Girl counterparts.
  Mustaches were cultivated in all shapes and sizes. In England, men began to sport a Napoleon shortly after the Franco-Prussian War. In the United States, the popularity of the handlebar mustache among men in all ranks of the armed services, as well as the civilian males, appears to have followed close on the heels of the War with Mexico (1846-1847) and the ensuing Gold Rush era.
   Prospectors found it difficult to keep clean-shaven during their arduous journeys through wilderness areas as well as working in mines and panning for gold in streams. Their walrus mustaches and beards often grew long and unkempt for months and even years.
    Along with these causative events, we can’t omit the universal assumption that hairiness in men often indicated the extent of their manly virility. Whether a valid assumption or not, mustaches and manliness walked hand in Victorian hand.
   Mustaches flourished all throughout the Victorian years. From trim Vandykes to hirsute handlebars, Victorian men proudly sported them. One often wonders how Victorian women really felt about these bristling brushes. However, without mustaches there would have been no mustache cups to admire, collect, display, and treasure. So, viva la mustache!
   The magnificent Victorian mustaches were pampered. They were trimmed, brushed, combed, dyed, and even curled up at the ends. Great gobs of wax were melted and then applied to the mustache to keep the curls intact. And therein lay a problem--a debilitating problem--that cropped up when steaming hot cups of coffee or tea were carried up to the mouth for sipping.
  Alas and alack! There was many a slip twixt the cup and the sip that led to drawing room disasters. The steam melted the wax and sent it drizzling down the chin, often streaked with dye, right into the cup along with the by then drooping mustache. A flurry of fans would quickly appear in feminine hands along with hair-curling cries of the vapors and swooning. And the sorry-looking dandies would have to withdraw from the drawing rooms post haste!
   Another problem soon became apparent. When gentlemen sipped their hot tea or coffee, mustaches often became stained, much as teeth can become stained from smoking as well as other sources. This just wouldn’t do. A blond mustache soon became a dirty brown wherever the beverage was in frequent contact with the appendage. A sartorial disaster, according to universal opinion.
   Finally, an innovative Englishman, one Harvey Adams, came to the rescue in 1830 with an unusual invention --the mustache cup. The mustache cup had a ledge, called a mustache guard, across the cup. The guard had one semicircular opening against the side of the cup. Voila! The pampered mustache rested safe and dry on the mustache guard while the gentleman sipped his hot beverage through the opening with equanimity. The dandies were delighted. The gentlemen were jolly well pleased. The Victorian ladies were titillated and intrigued. They had the perfect gift for the men in their lives. And so, this ingenious invention saved the titanic mustache from being washed down the drain of time.
  Word of the new invention combed the whiskered community via drawing room gossip. It spread like melted butter all over the continent and soon every famous potter was making the new cups. A multiplicity of mustache cups was made by such famous manufactories as R.S. Prussia Meissen, Royal Crown Derby, Imari, Royal Bayreuth, Irish Belleek, Limoges and others not so famous. Each potter created his own version of this masculine tableware and the news soon spread to America.
   Although many mustache cups were made in this country, the earliest ones were marked with names that led one to believe they were manufactured in England. This was due to the popularity of English-made ceramics. And sales were more important than sentiment. Therefore, with the exception of the quadruple silver mustache cups made in the U.S., it is extremely difficult to find a true Victorian mustache cup bearing an American pottery mark.
   The very early mustache cups and saucers were known as “Napoleons and saucers,” due to the nickname used for mustaches and beards worn by many Englishmen at that time. I am not sure when this nickname disappeared, but it was almost lost to history. In corresponding with the curator of the Museum of Worcester Porcelain in England, I noted that his spelling of mustache was moustache. You will find that spelling in some collectors’ guides and other reference books. Although either spelling is correct, the preferred spelling today is without the “o.”
   At first mustache cups were ordered individually by females as gifts for their hirsute males. Many of these were personalized with messages such as, “Forget Me Not,” “A Present,” and “Love the Giver.” Sets of “His and Hers” cups soon followed, with His having the mustache guard. Then Wedding Sets became popular and some were engraved “Husband” and “Wife.” But these are scarce and prized by collectors.
   Southpaws were not forgotten. Left-handed mustache cups were made by a number of factories. But true Victorian left-handed mustache cups are extremely rare and competitively sought after by collectors. In fact, the first question usually asked of one mustache cup collector by another is “Do you have a left-handed cup?” An answer in the affirmative is immediate induction into this highly selective “Brothers of the Brush” society. And women are not excluded. After all, members of the distaff side made the original purchases that helped sales to flourish like a flowing handlebar.
   Although a majority of mustache cups are hand painted portraits and figural decals are frequently found as are seasonal scenes featuring flora and fauna. A few scarce cups depicting dogs, horses, and deer have turned up at auctions recently. Designs with butterflies and exotic birds are diligently sought after. Cups with strikingly beautiful geometric designs in bold colors bring high prices today. Mustache cups with decalcomania and transfer designs are not uncommon, but are frequently combined with hand painted borders and designs. Roses, a Victorian favorite, appear on many cups. However, the hand-painted roses far outshine those found on decals or transfers. Many mustache cups have lavish gold applied designs. Gilding was widely used, and the interiors of many cups gleam with gold. Very few cups are found without some gold representation. Victorians did know how to “gild the lily.”
   Mustache cups are found in all sizes from miniature to very large, the large holding almost a pint of beverage. Mustache cups can also be found in a variety of shapes. Unusual shapes such as seashell, kettle, square, octagonal, hexagonal, brandy snifter and thunderjug command higher prices than more common shapes. Some cups are footed and a rare few are pedestaled. Avid collectors also look for unusual handles on cups-butterfly, open or closed fan, insect, rope, cherub, half-scissors and so on.
  All mustache cups, with the exception of large mugs, steins, and possibly a few large kettle-shape cups, originally came with matching saucers. The earliest cups had deep saucers for sipping hot beverages. Later, saucers became more compatible with those currently in use. A good many cups found today are missing their saucers due to breakage or misplacement. Although mustache cups with saucers are preferable, cups without saucers are more readily available and take up less space in a display cabinet. Besides, a saucer is a saucer, but a mustache cup is a collectible!
   Victorians were enthusiastic travelers. They traveled often and wide, looking for nicknacks for their whatnots. This soon created a new problem for the mustachioed men. Carrying a favorite mustache cup with them was not easy. Cups were frequently chipped, cracked, or even lost. But adventurous Americans came to the rescue this time. Portable mustache guards made of silver or tin were patented by a number of inventors. These portable guards were carried in small cases that fit into a pocket and could be quickly attached to a regular cup.
   No one inventor has been officially credited with inventing the new portable guard, but the first known patent was issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 1885. It was difficult to locate as it was listed under the category cutlery. One wonders if a gentleman were to be found with a portable mustache guard in his pocket today, might he be subject to arrest for “carrying a concealed weapon?”
   Mustache spoons, also known as etiquette spoons, first graced the tables of American homes. The earliest known mustache spoon was patented March 6, 1868 by Solon Ferrer of New York. These soupspoons, designed with a mustache guard, were helpful in keeping pieces of food from soiling the mustaches of many Victorian men. They could slurp to their hearts’ content. However, carrying mustache spoons around also proved to be a problem. Inventive minds soon created portable mustache guards for the spoons, and some silversmiths even advertised mustache guards that could do double duty. These guards were supposed to serve cups as well as spoons. However, one has yet to make its way into my collection.
   Around 1920-1930, the masculine mustache party slowly waned. Mustaches were no longer in vogue and mustache cup production trickled down to a precious few along with the disappearing facial adornments. Today these timeless treasures of Victorian elegance are coveted and collected by a growing number of enthusiasts. While not quite as scarce as the proverbial hens’ teeth, the really rare examples are becoming harder and harder to find. When an Irish Belleek or a Royal Crown Derby shows up on eBay, the bidding war soars out of range for many collectors. Even the more contemporary Susie Cooper mustache cup commands a very high price.
   Unfortunately, a rash of fake reproduction mustache cups and saucers is also infecting the marketplace today. Some of the forged marks are difficult to separate from the authentic marks, even for an experienced collector. Although left-handed forgeries seem to be the most plentiful, especially R.S. Prussia, many other manufacturers’ marks are being forged. Of course, there are true reproductions that have been made since the l940s. These cups are not fakes. They are not meant to deceive, as they bear the correct markings of the manufacturers. Hammersley & Co. mustache cups (England) with their colorful waterfowl and other decorations are good examples of true reproductions. The keyword for distinguishing valid reproductions from fakes is deceive. Fakes have been reproduced with all attempts to conceal their true origins. Some are marked with fake R.S. Prussia, R.S. Germany, or Nippon marks, among others. Still others have unknown marks or are not marked at all.
   Don’t be too chagrinned to find a fake or two in your own shop or collection. I found them in mine. Most were gifts from unsuspecting relatives and friends, but I do admit to being misled in a few of my own early purchases. So, caveat emptor! Honesty may be the best policy but it doesn’t feed the piggy bank.
   Many antique dealers are unwittingly advertising mustache cups for sale that are in reality shaving mugs. A proper Victorian gentleman would guffaw up his sleeve to see such a faux pas. Mustache cups and shaving mugs may belong to the same church, but they do not occupy the same pew. They do not serve the same purpose. A mustache cup is meant to protect the mustache, while a shaving cup is used to remove unwanted facial hair. I personally guarantee that any man who tried to sip his hot coffee or tea from a shaving mug would suffer debilitating damages to his paunch as well as his pride!
   Mustache cups appear to be a treasured Victorian secret. Although there are thousands of collectors, there are no known collectors’ clubs. These curiously comely cups have been quietly collected for years, and forty to fifty years ago it was relatively easy to acquire a beautiful and rare example at a reasonable price. That is not true today. As highly prized cups are fading from the marketplace, their prices are increasing between sips. Given the present day interest in Victoriana and an increase in the number of men who sport mustaches, one would not be surprised to see a resurgence of interest by famous potteries in producing valid reproductions of mustache cups. I intend to continue to collect the true Victorian era produced cups until my china display cabinets are as tightly packed as a Victorian lady’s corset!

About the author: Pauline C. Peck, a collector of mustache cups, is also a writer specializing in children’s books and Victorian antiques. She and Glenn Erardi, whose syndicated column, THE COLLECTOR, appears nationwide, have co-authored a new book, Mustache Cups, Timeless Victorian Treasures, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., PA. The book, illustrated with over 640 color photographs, features the history, marks/backstamps, and price values of mustache cups. Autographed copies may be obtained for $53.95 ($49.95 + $3.95 S&H). Make check or money order payable to: Glenn Erardi, PO Box 878, North Andover, MA 01845-0878