Thursday 19 June 2008

New Zealand Railway Cups

It was just the thing for a tea stop on a long rail journey such as the overnight express between Wellington and Auckland, which always stopped at the tearooms in Taumarunui, made famous in a 1950s ballad Taumarunui On The Main Trunk Line.
The company that eventually became known as Crown Lynn Potteries was established by Thomas Clark in 1937 as the 'Porcelain Specialties Department', a special department of the Amalgamated Brick and Pipe company, which had been started by Clark's great-grandfather. The new department, which later came to be referred to simply as the 'specials', produced items unrelated to the building trade such as intricate ceramic electrical components and moulds for rubber products such as gloves, baby bottle teats, and condoms.
The first Crown Lynn tableware was produced in the late 1930s, and it took the form of vitrified mugs - mugs hardened by firing in the kiln at high temperatures. In 1939 the outbreak of the Second World War saw the imposition of cargo restrictions, which meant that virtually no pottery was imported into the country.
New Zealand Railways, which provided the bulk of inland public transport in New Zealand, urgently needed replacements for its mugs, which had previously been supplied by British firms. In answer to their request Crown Lynn produced a straw-coloured mug without a handle with the letters 'NZR' stamped on in large block letters under a clear glaze. In 1943 a handle was added. Like much of the company's production in the early years, the Railways cups were highly functional and sturdy.
Crown Lynn was declared an essential industry during the war, producing durable mugs and cereal bowls for American soldiers in the Pacific. Rank-and- file soldiers were given the Crown Lynn handleless mugs, while the officers received mugs with handles that were probably American-made.
The Crown Lynn lines of military and Railways crockery were highly successful. However, because there was no imported crockery being brought into New Zealand, the range had to be extended to suit the domestic market. A tunnel kiln was erected in 1941, and the next year a new range of tableware was produced including pudding basins, casserole dishes, and various sized chamber pots. However, due to shortages of material and labour, the decorations remained simple. Alongside this extended range, the Railways cups and saucers continued to be produced in bulk.

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