Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer

From Mystic Tea Room

Jump to: navigation, search
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer set
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, display set
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, top view
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, side view
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, saucer
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, backstamp on cup
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer, backstamp on cup detail
Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer with Instruction booklet

Ian Cassan Messiter (1920 - 1999) was a popular British game show host. During his career at BBC Radio, he created the well-known shows "Just a Minute" and "Many a Slip" and brought an adaptation of the American show "Twenty Questions" format to England. As a producer, programme associate, and participant, he also appeared on "Family Fortunes," "One Minute Please," and "The Adventure Game." His autobiography, "My Life and Other Games," was published in 1990.

You can read a bit about Ian Messiter and see his picture here:

The Humiliating Experience That Sparked 'Just a Minute': The true story behind what prompted Ian Messiter to come up with the idea for radio classic Just A Minute, which is being turned into a major BBC Television series. The Telegraph, 2011.

The Ian Messiter Fortune Teacup and Saucer was manufactured by Poole pottery in England. It is a symbol cup and saucer, with each symbol neatly framed within a formal rectilinear border. I do not know the exact years of manufacture, but it seems to have been made during the 1970s. It has been suggested by a few collectors that it was given away as a prize on one of Ian Messiter's game shows, but evidence of that has not surfaced as yet.

DIV-TLR-XXXX

catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room

See Also

Personal tools