Yum, soup!

Not long ago, for the first time in many years, I ventured into a Temple. Now, fret not! I haven't rejected my lifelong Christian beliefs; rather, I was seeking fulfillment of a different kind. A thrifty kind! The largest (only?) temple in town was hosting its annual Rummage Event. This three-day monstrosity outdid any of the church rummage sales that I have been to in the past. Day One, everything individually priced. Day Two, half price sale. Day Three, bag sale. I was worn out from the weekend, so I didn't make it to Day One, which fell on a Monday. But while my little ones were at soccer class on Tuesday afternoon, I took the three minute stroll down the street to check out the sale.

I only had a few minutes, so I had to work quickly. Luckily, I have perfected the lightning speed walk-through, and I wasted no time evaluating the two sections that were of most interest to me. Now normally, you know I love the vintage Christmas stuff, but I figured this was one sale that would disappoint on that front. So I concentrated my efforts in the kid books/games and china and glassware sections.

I immediately spotted a lovely ceramic piece among the plates and teacups that looked like old Johnson Brothers. I turned it over and indeed I was correct. It was marked $10, but since it was half price day, it was only $5. It wasn't one of my favorite Johnson Bros. patterns, but it was pretty and the piece was rather unusual. It was with the kitchen implements and seemed to possibly be a soup tureen but it had only one handle. And the lid didn't have the characteristic cut-out for a ladle. Hmmm...it looked suspiciously like a chamber pot. But no, that couldn't possibly be, right? I brought it up to the sweet little ladies running the check out line. "What a beautiful soup tureen!" the woman checking me out exclaimed. "It is a soup tureen, right?" I asked, not at all sure. "Of course!," the lady replied, shaking her head at my ignorance. The other ladies nodded in agreement. I hesitated, but decided to buy it anyway.

my new "soup tureen"

I brought it home, placed it on my table, flipped open my laptop and googled away: "Johnson Brothers soup tureen." Countless examples of beautiful soup tureens, some with similar detailing, but none with only one handle and all had lids with the hole for a ladle. I tried googling one-handled soup tureens. Nothing came up. Then I followed my original instincts and googled Johnson Brothers chamber pot. Guess what? Of course, a number of pots very similar to mine flashed onto my screen. I had been right. I was now the proud owner of a turn of the century chamber pot. Happily, I did note that I had gotten an outstanding price for it. I only hope that some poor lady from the Temple hadn't been serving her grandma's famous matzoh ball soup in that pot for the past 50 years.