Historical information

These items were made in the 1930s or 1940s for sale as souvenirs of Empire Day in Victoria. As they were made by Royal Doulton of England they were high-quality souvenirs. Empire Day was established in 1905 to commemorate the reign of Queen Victoria and to promote and celebrate the importance of the British Empire in Britain and in the associated British Empire countries. It was celebrated on 24th May, the date of Queen Victoria’s birthday. In Victoria the day was celebrated with a school holiday and half-day business holiday, street and shop decorations, bonfires, concerts, processions etc. In 1958 Empire Day became known as Commonwealth Day.

Significance

These items have no known local provenance but they were typical of the souvenirs that sold in the first half of the 20th century in Warnambool and all other parts of Australia around the time of Empire Day, May 24th . It will be useful for display.

Physical description

This cup and this saucer are made of white china with coloured images of Britannia, the rising sun, British flags, scrolls and the names of British Empire countries on each item. The cup rim and the saucer edge originally had gold trim but the gold has almost disappeared. The cup and the saucer have the name of the distributor and the maker on the base.

Inscriptions & markings

‘Empire Day, May 24th , Africa, Australasia, Canada, India’