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Small Sampling of the Collection of 19th Century and Pre-WWII 20th Century British Royal Navy Antique Mess Plates, Mess Bowls, Copper Rum and Grog Measures, Cups, and Dispensing Equipment


Also very briefly shown are three photographs of our large 18th and 19th Century American, British, French and Dutch Enlisted Sea Service Edged Weapons, Boarding Axes and Boarding Pikes All Properly Marked, as well as our Extensive Antique and Vintage Naval China Dinnerware and Platter Collection from all of the Navies of the World.
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british royal navy 19th and pre-WWII dinnerware

Just a small part of the overall naval china dinnerware and tableware collection. Photo shows on the wall various pre and post 1907 designs of 19th and early 20th century British Royal Navy Mess Plates, Mess Bowls, and Copper Rum Cups or Measures.

Mess Plates with a Mess No on them were used used pre-1907 when the British Navy had individual "berthing" messes for its enlisted sailors. Mess Plates without an assigned Mess No are typically post-1907 when the British Navy discontinued its "berthing mess" manner of feeding its sailors and went to a generalized mess

royal navy of malaysia insignia or crest royal navy of malaysia insignia or crest

The collection of British Royal Navy Mess Plates consists of 8 pre-1907 plates in the "Young Head" design with two distinct patterns: Royal Crown Centerpiece and Cross Flags as the Centerpiece - the largest Mess No we have had is 54. The "Young Head" designs have varying levels of quality and craftsmanship, and all employ the transfer decal method of applying the various scenes onto the plates, with the actual Mess No itself hand painted or glazed. Many but not all of these "Young Head" patterned plates were made by the "Bovey Pottery Company, Ltd".

british royal navy mess plate no 16 british royal navy mess plate no 20

We also have 3 very rare, quite detailed, and handsomely beautiful pre-1907 Mess Plates adorned with 4 separate naval scenes around the edge, semi-gothic design, and chain, along with a centerpiece consisting of a banner stating "Royal Navy" along with a wooden man-of-war crossed British naval ensigns and flags, flowers, roses, an anchor and the Mess No. The manufacturers backstamp is a banner on the rear of the plate and reads "Fletcher & Miller, Butcher at Portsea". We have not yet seen any of these patterned plates with any other backstamp other than with "Fletcher & Miller". The craftsmanship and detail on this transfer decal pattern of Mess Plate is incredible, and the actual pottery manufacturer that made these is currently unknown. One of the three plates is shown in the above left photo next to the picture.

british royal navy mess plate no 77 portsmouth barracks british royal navy mess plate no 77 portsmouth barracks

Another pattern of Royal Navy Mess Plate made specifically for the Royal Navy's Barracks at Portsmouth. We are presuming this plate to be pre-1907 since it identified with Mess No 77.

Of interesting note is that the badge or insiginia used (though blurry from the original glazing and firing) is relatively simple in design and adorned not with a Royal Crown but with the British navy's "Admiralty Crown" first established in the 1600s and consisting of your jewels and what-have-you along the band, but on top is the rear of a wooden ship-of-the-line in the middle with two square rigged sails to the left and right of it, and a half-ship on the left and right sides of the respective sails. Supposedly this has something to do with the defeat of a Spanish armada by an inferior British fleet.

british royal navy admiralty plate british royal navy admiralty plate

Above is an early Post-1907 Royal Navy Mess Plate originally found in Tasmania, Australia, supposedly found by a diver in some bay that was used by the British Navy during the early 20th century, and was produced by "The Globe Pottery Company of Cobridge England" ca 1923-1928. Note the use of the Admiralty instead of a Royal Crown and their is no identifying Mess No because at the time of production the British Navy had already gone to the generalized mess instead of the older berthing mess.

british royal navy bowls british royal navy young head pattern bowls and plate

Above is our collection of pre and post-1907 British Royal Navy Mess Bowls, 2 in the Young Head design Mess Nos 54, 10, 19 and 58.

Another pre-1907 Mess Bowl is simple in design consisting Mess No 18 within a circle.

And the last Mess Bowl is post-1907 production and use with a very simple fouled anchor insiginia ca 1907-1916, this simple fouled anchor insignia was discontinued in 1926. This Mess Bowl was supposedly found in the 1960s on a beach after a storm off Felixstowe and the Cutler Shoal in the UK. It certainly shows decades of submersion in water and staining from mud and aquatic life.

british royal navy rum cups and measures british royal navy demijohns and rum fannies

Above are two photos of our small but growing collection of Royal Navy 19th/20th century copper rum measures (rum cups), two post-WWII ceramic rum demijohns encased in protective wicker and a rum fannie or mess bucket of which we have two.

We currently have 3 one quart, 2 one pint, 2 halt pint, 1 one gill and 2 half-gill measures with both Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian royal ciphers. We will be looking to get at least 1 one gallon, 1 half gallon and 1 1.5 gill measures to complete our copper measure or rum cup collection.

We are looking to slowly add to our collection of copper rum measures as well as the rum/grog funnels, a copper pump used to dispense the rum or grog and a hard-to-find wooden mixing tub, "God Save The Queen"! Here is a link dedicated just to our Royal Navy photographic identification and analysis of 19th and 20th Copper Grog/Rum Cups and Measures, demijohns, pumps, etc Click Here.

sea service boarding pikes, axes and cutlasses overall collection of naval plates

Above is a small sampling of our 19th century collection of British, American, Dutch, French, Scandinavian Sea Service edged weapons consisting of Boarding Pikes, Boarding Axes and Cutlasses - All properly marked with manufacturers, aresenal and/or royal ciphers.

Photo to the right shows a small sampling of other antique and vintage Naval Dinnerware Plates from various navies of the world from about the 1830s to 1960's.

overall collection of naval platters

Above is a sampling of our collection of antique and vintage Serving Platters, Dishes and Bowls from various navies of the world, ca 1860's to 1960s. Here is a link dedicated just to our naval platters, Click Here.



US Navy Enlisted China Pitcher ca late 1870's to early 1900



US Navy Personal Hygiene Slop Pot

Above are a ceramic or porcelain clean water pitcher to the left and a spittoon or slop jar to the right used to hold discarded water, ca 1860s to 1890s. This is what is called "hygieneware" and was used aboard ship in Officers staterooms prior to plumbing. This plain initialed "U.S.N." was one of two standard insiginias used.







personal hygiene ware bathroom wash set - basin, soap dish, water tumbler personal hygieneware bathroom straight razor

To the left is a collection of soap dishes, water tumblers, and a sink all badged with the plain USN initials and clearly part of a standardized complement of hygieneware, this type of basin was found among the items recovered from the USS Monitor. To the right is a straight razor made in England for the U.S. Navy and personalized with a sailors name.



another slop pot, spittoon or cuspidor



another slop pot, spittoon or cuspidor


Above is another US Navy spittoon with a more stylistic design of the initials "USN" superimposed on each other. This was the second of two patterns of insignia used on US Navy hygieneware ca 1860s to 1890s






two water tumblers with USN one plain the other fancy


porcelain or ceramic usn soap dish, called hygieneware

fancy civil war era stylized navy usn water tumbler fancy civil war era stylized usn from jones mcduffie stratton of boston, J McD & S Boston

Above are a soap dish and two water tumblers, one for hygieneware and the second for use during dinner. Note that the two hygieneware tumblers have flared top edges which we believe indicates that they were put into a metal hangar of sorts similar to the soap dishes so that they would be readily available yet not prone to being broken by the toss and pitch aboard ship.

This particular stylistic insignia has been found on a complete dinnerware set ca 1860s Civil War era.



Below are links to other related Antique Nautical and Naval Artifacts that may be of interest:

Click HERE for WWII US Navy Anchor China

 
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OPTIONAL - Trunk Wood Engraving Examples and Prices
Custom Designed, Handcrafted, and Hand Lettered in Caligraphy on your Antique Chest
 
Personalized Burnt Wood Engravings
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Personalize Your 100+ Year Old Antique Trunk in Perpetuity!
 
Antique Trunks as a Shadow Box and Storage Chest!
Customer Photographic Examples of our Antique Trunks Being used as a Military or Naval Retirement Shadow Box and Storage Chest!!
 
Military or Naval Retirement Ceremony Shadow Box
Click Here for Sample Shadow Box Photographs From Customers
 
Why just get a shadow box or a newly made trunk with no history! One of our 100+ Year Old Nautical Antique Trunks can be used for both a Shadow Box and Storage Chest for your Uniforms, Photograph Albums, and Memorabilia!


The Pirate's Lair
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78 Canterbury Drive
Stafford, Virginia 22554
Phone: 540-659-6209

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