Egg cups

With Easter fast approaching, I was particularly pleased to find this little gem amongst objects recently acquired as part of the collection of the Plastics Historical Society. 

Small and perfectly formed, this small green egg contains two simple bases which push into the upturned half egg shells, to form a pair of egg cups.  Made from green urea formaldehyde we think it dates from the 1930s, but it has no makers marks to help us with identification. 

Egg cups can perhaps be seen as a miniature manifestation of the prevailing stylistic influences of the time in which they were made, with the colour and materials used as extra clues to their date of making. So many of them are unmarked and the ones we have here in the collections of MoDiP and the Plastics Historical Society include many anonymous examples.  There are, however, examples from well-known makers such as Bodum, Tupperware and zak!, and for those particularly interested in older plastics materials, Ranton, Mendel Brothers, De La Rue and NB Products.   We even have an example of the Yowk pot, packaging designed to hold a healthy on-the-go snack of a pre-boiled egg, breadsticks and seasoning.  The packaging is designed in such a way that when turned upside down, the top becomes an egg cup.  This idea was short lived because of inconsistencies in cooking the eggs. 

If you would like to come in and see any of these objects, or anything else from the collection, please contact a member of the MoDiP team.

Pam Langdown, Museum Documentation Officer.