* REUNION 1999
* FAMILY ALBUM
* GENEALOGY
* HELPFUL PHRASES
* SLOVAK RECIPES
* SOKOL *
* ANTIQUE POSTCARDS OF LITTLE FALLS, NEW YORK
* LITTLE FALLS NEWS/OBITS
* SLOVAK ARTS *
* THE MANY FACES OF SLOVAKIA *
(Photographs from 1999 Trip to Slovakia)
BACK TO HOME PAGE
Vintage Spa Cups
Names to look for: (most common)
Czech Republic:
Marienbad (Ger.),
Marianske Lazne (Cz.) - spa in West Bohemia, Czech Republic, formerly part of Austro-Hungary.
Karlsbad (Ger.), Karlovy Vary (Cz.) - spa in Karlovy, West Bohemia, Czech Republic, formerly part of Austro-Hungary.
Other spas in Czech Republic: Frantiskovy Lazne, Kynzvart, Jachymov,
Teplice (Teplitz), Podebrady, Janske Lazne, Velke Losiny, Luhacovice.
Slovakia:
Piestany, Piest'any - spa town in Slovakia. The most beautiful of the spa facilities is the
Thermia Palace Hotel and Spa, built by the Winter Family in 1912, and now restored.
Other spas in Sovakia: Bardejov, Bojnice, Brusno, Ciz, Dudince,
Korytnica, Kovacova, Lubochna, Lucivna, Lucky, Nimnica, Rajecke Teplice, Sklene Teplice, Sliac, Smrdaky, Stos, Trencianske,
Turcianske Teplice, Vysoke Tatry, Zelezno .
Sometimes mis-listed for sale as invalid feeders or puzzle cups.
Spa cups were/are both utilitarian and decorative. They were originally meant to replace the common cup attached to a public water fountain.
A tumbler-style (row 1, below) cup frequently had measurement markings in the inside so that the spa goer could keep track of the amounts drunk of the various therapeutic waters that had been prescribed by the spa physicians.
The sipping-style of cup (rows 2 - 6, below)) was designed to be carried as one walked, permitting sipping without having to tilt one's head back. This type has a built-in "straw" that feeds from the inside bottom of the cup. This "straw" is also the handle for the cup.
The guests at the spa hotels would gather in the plazas at the spas, carrying their private cups, filling them, and then taking their health walks. Vintage postcards of these spas show the richly-dressed guests promenading around, holding their cups out in front of them. I will try to locate a few post card images to include here.(see one below)
Vintage cups, some highly decorated and gilded, are now more suitable for display, while the cups of newer manufacture are a reasonably-priced and attractive souvenir of the various spa towns.
Translation help:
bad (German) = spa (example: Marienbad, Karlsbad)
sprudel (German) = bubbling spring
lazne (Czech) = spa (example: Marianske Lazne)
kupele (Slovak) = spa
Size range:
Row 1: Bohemian glass, (1860's? - 1918) approx. 4 1/2" to 6 1/2" h for a tumbler-style
#1:
#2:"Kreuzbrunn-Marienbad" (The Cross Fountain-Marienbad)
#3:"Sprudel in Karlsbad"
#4: Karlsbad with gram markings
Row 1a:
#1: Bohemian-style, 4"h, "Bad Sooden Werra" ("Soodenbad"), Germany, gram markings 50-200 g.
#2: Karlovy Vary, c1920?
#3: detail, etched design
#4: etched Bohemian, "Teplice"; gilt & enamel; polished pontil
Row 1b: (1890's - 1918) approx. 4 1/2" to 6 1/2" h for a tumbler-style
#1: Karlsbad, 1896
#2: Karlsbad, 1911
#3: Karlsbad?, 1910
#4: Karlsbad, Opera scene,1910
#5: #4 detail
Row 2: (#1-see decor detail below)*, 2:c1900; #3,4: 1930's; #5:c1930?) approx. 6" h for a flat sipping-style
Row 2a: (#1-4: 1930's), (#4-see decor detail below)** approx. 6" high
Row 2b: (1930's)
Row 3: (#1:tumbler, c1900; #2,3,4,5: newer) approx. 2 1/2" to 3 1/2 " h for a souvenir miniature
Row 4: (all newer) approx. 5" to 6" h for a flat sipping-style
Row 5: (all newer) approx. 4" to 6" h for a squat sipping style
Row 6: (newer, unusual, all marked "Karlovy Vary")
Row 6a: (new, purchased 2000 in Piestany, Slovakia, marked either "Piestany Kupele" or "Kupele Piestany")
Row 7: Other spa items (older, unusual)
#1: Spa glass, Karlsbad, 6 1/8" high, gram markings 35 - 210 g
#2: Souvenir vase, "Beim Sprudel in Karlsbad" (At the bubbling spring, Karlsbad); 7" high
#3: Spa glass, "Lazne Podobrady", Bohemia (now Czech Republic); transfer on tinted glass
#4: Carafe, pitcher & tumbler, "Kupele Bardejov", Slovakia; transfer and paint on glass
#5: Souvenir cup, Karlsbad, Sprudel Colonnade (side view)(***see front decor detail below)
Row 7a: Other spa items (older, unusual)
#1: "Bad Gastein" c. 1930?
#2: Souvenir cup with identical transfer as Row 2a, #4 (above)
#3: Souvenir pin, "Lazne Podebrady", enamel and coin silver
#4: Souvenir cup, "Sprudel in Karlsbad"; hand-painted in exquisite detail
#5: Souvenir cup, "Pomnik Krale Jiriho"(top); "Lazne Podebrady" (bottom)
Row 7b: (Reserved for future use)
Row 7c: (rare shape)
#1: Spa cup, Karlsbad 1929, 5" high, classical Roman scene, heavily gilded
#2: Spa cups, Karlsbad Sprudelkolonnade, left undated; right 1929.
#3: Karlsbad 1929
#4: Karlsbad 1929 detail
Row 7d: (rare shape)
#1: Spa cup, Karlsbad 1931, 5" high, Sprudel Colonnade, heavily gilded
#2: #1 detail
*Decor detail, Row 2, #1 (above), also top photo: top row, left (same cup):
**Decor detail, Row 2a, #4 (above) "Discovery of the Karlsbad Springs by Kaiser Karl IV".
Kaiser Karl IV is also known as Emperor Charles IV, during whose reign (1346-1378) the medieval Czech state flourished.
***Decor detail, Row 7, #5 (above) "Sprudel Colonnade"
"Gruss aus Marienbad" (Greetings from Marienbad); 1899. Note that nearly all the walkers have their spa cups!
