This steamship cup and saucer came from the estate of a ship's pilot. According to his heir, he worked in the Panama Canal circa 1963-1979. Custom was to tip the pilot for safely steering the ship through the canal. Usual tips were a bottle of whisky or a carton of cigarettes but this gentleman neither imbibed not smoked so he always asked for a cup and saucer or plate off each vessel.
This set is from
NASM or Nederlaandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij of The Netherlands. Both cup and saucer feature the NASM initials in gold script with matcing gold band around the rims.
The coffee cup stands approx. 2 5/8 inches tall. It was made by MOSA and shows quite a bit of wear on the lip and handle. The saucer is 5 3/4 inches. The saucer is made by Maastricht of Holland and shows just slight utensil marks with no chips or cracks.
It's a gorgeous set of hard to find steamship china but bargain priced due to the condition of the cup. It does display well!
