NIAGARA SOUVENIR DEMITASSE - OCCUPIED GERMANY

This demitasse-sized cup and saucer set is a vintage souvenir of Niagara Falls. Both pieces are a rich, glossy, wine-red and feature a colored medallion depicting the Falls. Both the cup and the saucer are lavishly trimmed with bright gilding around the pictures, on all of the edges, and over the entire surface of the ornate upright handle. Both pieces are marked on the bottom as shown. Those marks saying "Germany" and "US Zone" date the manufacture of the set to between 1945 and 1949 in the portion of Germany occupied at that time by the US military. The American Zone was one of four areas administered by the different Allied armies after the end of World War II. It included Bavaria, Hesse, and Wurttemberg-Baden. In 1949, the Soviet Zone became East Germany while the other zones were consolidated to form West Germany, and this is how the country remained until it was re-unified in 1990. The cup stands 2-1/2 inches tall to the rim; the saucer is 4-1/4 inches in diameter. Both pieces are in excellent condition, without cracks, chips, stains, significant wear, or other damage or defect. And what a gorgeous remembrance - not only of a popular natural wonder - but also of a piece of history! (If you see any splotches in the color in the pictures, please note that the set is unblemished. These 'marks' are reflections off the glaze, and are due to our - need I say it - inadequate photographic skills, not any defect in the china!)