|  The
Dormouse is pleased to offer a selection of Children’s
Dinner and Tea Sets for collectors and for very discriminating,
careful children. Our sets range in age from the 1850’s to
the 1990’s. The collection started with a set my great grandmother
was given when she was 16—in the 1850’s or 60’s.
According to the family stories it was passed on to a daughter at
16—which is why all the pieces managed to survive. My grandmother
received the set in about 1889; my mother in about 1928, and I got
it the same year I graduated from high school. (And I’m not
going to tell you when that was.) That set is NOT for sale. Neither
is the wonderful English Toy Dinner Set my husband gave me for my
31st birthday. (I’m not telling you when that was, either).
The sets we DO have for sale come from all around the world. (I
brought 16 sets, wrapped in ‘Pampers’ and paper towels,
home in a carryall bag, on an airplane, the night before the Loma
Prieta earthquake. I unpacked them all and arranged them nicely
on the dining table for my husband to admire. Amazingly, they survived.)
We describe the Tea Sets as ‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Toy,’
and ‘Nursery’ sizes. The Dormouse didn’t
want to stick rulers or coins in the pictures to show scale, but
measurements are included in the descriptions. Tea Sets typically
have a teapot, creamer, sugar and at least one cup and saucer—sometimes
more. Often, they also include individual dessert plates, and sometimes
a cookie serving plate. All teapots have lids; some sugar bowls
have lids and some don’t. Dinner Sets may have full tea service
components, and in addition have dinner plates, platters, tureens,
gravy boats with underplates and condiment service dishes.
 Other
Miniatures found a home here, because they’re small, even
if you can’t drink toy tea from them. Salesman’s Samples
and Gift Certificate Premiums are a very special group. (Since there’s
no room here, you’ll find a complete description/ explanation
of the difference between them elsewhere in the website.) Because
they’re mostly minis of Men’s Hats, The Mad Hatter wanted
to show them, but The Dormouse won.
We decided to call our Miniatures department ‘The Dormouse’
because that character spends the entire Mad Hatter’s Tea
Party napping in the teapot. Won’t you take some tea with
The Dormouse?
Copyright 2005 by
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
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