Vintage Queen's Fine Bone China Prince Edward Island Mug – Lighthouse, Ferry & Lady's Slipper Orchid, Canadian Souvenir, England 1980s

A small piece of Prince Edward Island made in England. A red-roofed lighthouse, a wooden ferry pulled up at a pier, a sky of soft watercolour blue, and the Island's official flower — pink-and-white Lady's Slipper orchid — caught in bloom on either side of the scene. Across the front, Prince Edward Island in a pink script that belongs squarely to the souvenir china tradition of the 1970s and 80s. The handle is fine, gold-edged, the bone china so thin it lets the light through at the rim.

Made by Queen's Fine Bone China, a Rosina China Co Ltd line established in 1875 — the firm that produced thousands of these regional souvenir mugs through the late twentieth century, sold to visitors at Canadian airports, gift shops, and ferry terminals. The Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to the mainland did not open until 1997; for most of the period this mug was sold, the only way onto the Island was the very ferry depicted on the side.

A piece for Islanders abroad, for Anne of Green Gables readers who have already done the pilgrimage, for collectors of Canadian souvenir china, for the lighthouse-themed kitchen, or for anyone who wants a small, specific, very PEI-coded piece of fine English bone china. Not a place-setting cup — a stand-alone mug, made to be picked up and used.