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32 Piece University of California Diamond Jubilee Dinner and Tea Set by Wedgwood ware. This set was issued for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the University of California Berkeley in 1943. The interesting thing about this set was that although it was created for the Diamond Jubilee in 1943, these sets were not able to be issued until circa 1949 because of WW2. Also, that these were issued from England and at the time their pound was severely devalued so they couldn’t fill these order until almost 5 years after the end of WW2.
I believe the set is either Porcelain or Ceramic but not 100% sure on either.
The set was created to model the Staffordshire ware and includes:
8 serving plates8 dessert or salad plates8 tea cups8 tea cup saucer plates.
The set is very ornate and the large dinner plates include scenes of The University Library, View of the Golden Gate from the Campus, Henry Morse Stephens Memorial Hall, Bacon Hall, Faculty Glade, The Life of Sciences Buildings, The Greek Theatre, and Bowles Hall.
The dessert or salad plates include the Cal sign in the middle and all are identically decorated around the edges with scenes of the campus as well as 4 portraits of 4 influential Cal alumni/staff which are named as Howard, Lawson, Gilbreth, and Derleth Jr. on the back of the plates.
The teacups feature of a scene of Sather Gate on one side and the Cal coat of arms along with their motto.
The saucer tea cup plates all feature a simple scene of Cal around the edges.
The condition of these plates is excellent, especially for the age of this set with very little wear or aging or use shown.
This set was produced by Wedgwood in Etruria England by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons.
This set also includes the original catalogue as well as correspondence between the the Cal Alumni Association and the Alumnus who purchased this set explaining that the war was the cause of the delay of the distribution of this purchase which all add to the story of this collection.
The large plates are around 10 1/2 inchesThe dessert/salad plates are around 8 3/8 inchesThe tea cup saucers are around 5 1/8 inchesThe tea cups measure around 2 3/8 inches tall and 2 7/8 inches across the mouth.After photographing this set I wrapped them, packed, them, and boxed them extremely carefully and securely in in two cardboard boxes incase I had to ship them.
I WOULD PREFER A LOCAL SALE IN THE BAY AREA, and can be very flexible about the distance in the Bay Area and greater Northern California. If you are outside the area I would consider shipping them but please message me first to discuss because logistically to ship something this fragile, large, and expensive might be a challenge but I would be willing to work with you.
$1150 OBO, message me for additional information and offers.
