posted 02-08-2016 05:54 PM            

Above are two of my favorite beakers. The barrel shaped beaker has the manufacturer’s marks for John Chandler Moore and the retailer’s mark for J and I Cox. The Cox firm was in business between 1846 and 1853 and that is probably the time period that this cup was made. The barrel shaped cup has an interesting history with a design by Asa Blanchard reflecting the importance of bourbon in early Kentucky. The Moore cup is not as squatty as the Blanchard one, but still serves the purpose.

The other cup has the mark of Amable Brasier of Philadelphia working 1794 to 1833. The tapered sides make this cup very easy to hold. Both of these cups were hand raised as shown by the centering dot next to the marks. Mr. Brasier certainly has an interesting name and was the retailer of another cup (Connections with the past) that I have.

posted 04-26-2016 10:29 AM            

I've seen the center dot on spun pieces, too. From what I understand, it can be on both, and there's no real timeline on when a piece can be raised or not. I have raised (handmade pieces) from most all periods. It depends on the silversmith.

Here is mine:

posted 04-28-2016 10:09 AM            

I initially believed this cup to be c.1830, but a dealer and expert in southern decorative arts in Nashville, TN viewed these pictures and estimated it's possibly as early as 1820! (he gave 1820-30 as his estimate)

After looking at many examples, I tend to agree with his estimate as it's got a very distinct regional appearance.

posted 04-28-2016 11:40 PM            

Above are pictures of cups that are commonly referred to as julep cups and straws that are often sold to go with these cups.

posted 04-28-2016 11:41 PM            

I think that the straws that have a spade like feature on one end are really for iced tea or some other drink that one wants to stir. The other straws with either nothing on the ends or a simple ball like feature work well for sipping the julep. They slip in easily into the crushed ice and since the drink is mixed before pouring into the cup no stirring is required. The spade like feature just interferes with the insertion of the straw into the drink.

Finally below is a picture of the frosted and decorated cups ready to be served.

posted 04-29-2016 08:14 PM            

I did forget about the beaker below by Jaccard of St. Louis. It is the tallest one I have at just over 4 inches. I put it away as it just holds too much bourbon. It is a good example of the beaded borders that many of these beakers have. It also has the initial BCAMA that stands for Boone County Agricultural and Mechanical Association.

These beakers were a favorite premium given away at state or county fairs. Below are two more examples; one from Ray County and another from CDAS that may stand for Central Division Agricultural Society. I really don’t have firm dates on when these were made, but I think a good many were from the 1850s and 1860s.

Most of the beakers had either the beaded border a rimmed border, but a few do have a milled band border. Some examples are shown below.

If you like the taste of bourbon a mint julep will be one of your favorite drinks. Fresh mint is essential, but it is really easy to grow. The only other recommendation I would make is to take the time to make simple syrup with the mint leaves. Prepackaged sugar with mint flavoring is just not the same. It is just like the prepackaged roux for making gumbo; a poor substitute for the real thing.