A mother and  her tiny daughter pause to enjoy the outdoors in a black transferware s...

A mother and  her tiny daughter pause to enjoy the outdoors in a black transferware scene simply captioned "Amusement." The colorful enamels that typically highlight the transfer prints on this sort of ware are here reserved for the floral and fruit relief of the border flange, creating a striking contrast to the monochromatic center.

The strolling couple in the background suggest that this may be a morning scene, the time of choice for a pleasant "constitutional."

While popular bias assigns this class of wares to the juvenile category, we forget that th...

While popular bias assigns this class of wares to the juvenile category, we forget that they were also sold as inexpensive holiday souvenirs--especially as travel became accessible to more and more people. Perhaps some sentimental mother picked this up as a travel trinket, not for a child's table but to brighten a corner of her own world.