Week 50, Family Heirloom: Adam Laviolette's Mustache Cup

Week 50 of 2025's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is "Family Heirloom" and I have an interesting one to share!

This ornate cup baffled me when I first pulled it out of a box of my grandfather’s things.  What was the purpose of the little shelf inside?  Was it a toothbrush holder?  An excessively fancy shaving mug?  After a bit of internet sleuthing, I learned it was something called a mustache cup.  In the mid-1800s when abundant facial hair was the fashion, men had a difficult time drinking hot beverages.  Tea and coffee melted the wax used to style mustaches, which then dribbled down their faces right into their cups.  Dark liquids like cocoa and coffee also stained all but the darkest facial hair.  An English potter named Harvey Adams solved this dilemma when he invented a mustache guard.  The creative design allowed men to sip hot chocolate, tea, and coffee without sullying their perfectly coifed mustaches.  Though they may look like novelty items, these cups were widely used in restaurants and homes.  Most households had at least one or two for the man of the house and guests.  Mustache cups made popular gifts.

The box it was stored in was labeled with my grandfather’s name, “Phil,” but a fainter label written in pencil said, “Phil’s Grandmother’s.”  Most items in the box definitely belonged to my grandparents, but this cup and a paperweight were from the Victorian era and probably belonged to his grandparents, Adam and Georgie Laviolette.  Adam sported a marvelous mustache befitting a man of his day.  Mustache cups reached the height of popularity in the 1890s and the Laviolettes married in 1893.  Georgie may have given this cup to Adam as a wedding or birthday present.  Sentimental phrases like “Remember Me” or “Think of Me” were common on cups women gave to their lovers. 

Adam and Georgie Laviolette in 1893

 Most people would have thrown this teacup away long ago because it’s in such poor condition.  The handle is broken off.  It’s been ages since the saucer was lost or shattered.  The paint is worn in places – especially where it touched Adam’s lips…but maybe that’s why Georgie held onto it.  Did she ever cradle the cup in her hands and press it to her lips, sending Adam kisses beyond the grave?  I would have.

Years after his grandmother Georgie’s death, Grampy Phil tucked it away among his mementos.  Knowing my magpie grandfather, he kept it because it was historically interesting, and it was probably the only keepsake he had belonging to the grandfather he never met.  This curious little teacup may hold no monetary value, but it’s brimming full of precious family memories of bygone days.