We are confident that this dish and saucer were not made for a particular shipping line, In the mid 19th century travellers aboard a passenger ship were required to bring their own bedding and mess utensils. This dish and saucer were most probably stock items sold in a store catering to those embarking on a sea voyage. The dish is back stamped with a British registration diamond giving a date of March 3 1852. The saucer has an impressed date of 4.64.
As competition between shipping lines increased over time more favourable sailing conditions were offered to passengers in order to win their business. An obvious incentive would have been to include ‘freebies’ such as clean bedding and eating utensils. These pieces may have been purchased by a passenger or just as likely been purchased by the ships owner .
It is interesting to note that the design of the garter , crown, and anchor, is almost exactly the same as the one used by the Liverpool Eagle Line Of Packets. We’ve assumed the owners of the Liverpool line liked this design and purchased the crockery from the manufacturers substituting the name of their line in place of the words marine service.
