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Author Topic:   Collecting space mugs and glassware
pokey
Member

Posts: 368
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-10-2011 10:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for pokey   Click Here to Email pokey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Are there any others out there that have the same passion for collecting space mugs and glasses? The bulk of my drinkware items are the coffee mugs.

I'm still unpacking my space stuff and trying to make some order of it all, so I'm not really sure how much I have or where any holes are — so don't ask for any stats right now.

Just wondering how many others there are in the space collecting community.

garymilgrom
Member

Posts: 2107
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 08-10-2011 11:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, I'm a space-glassaholic too. I love the inexpensive Apollo glasses found on eBay and use those for my everyday drinking. Special drinks go into a space mug — maybe one from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, or a vintage ascent/entry mug from mission control. And meals are tastier when served on a space-themed plate too!

ilbasso
Member

Posts: 1527
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 08-10-2011 11:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ilbasso   Click Here to Email ilbasso     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I don't have many in my collection, but there are a few mugs that I felt inclined to acquire. One is an Al Worden stein with the inscription, "Let me assure you that at no time during my 75 lunar orbits did I see a Bavarian behind the moon." I also have one of Buzz Aldrin's Air Force mugs.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1482
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 08-10-2011 12:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a few glasses, shot glasses, mugs, and plates. I once had Buzz sign one of the Apollo 11 Wedgwood plates as a gift for someone. That (non-space fan) was not all that impressed.

Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member

Posts: 3466
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-10-2011 12:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have two items I picked up, although it's not my main interest. One is a mug with the space shuttle Enterprise Approach and Landing Test program emblem on front and the name of Ozzie Reid's wife on back. That I know where it is. Another, which either is in storage or is "somewhere" is a mug that was issued for the then-forthcoming first shuttle flight from Vandenberg AFB.

saturn1b
Member

Posts: 159
From: Westcliffe, CO
Registered: Jun 2006

posted 08-11-2011 02:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for saturn1b   Click Here to Email saturn1b     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yep, it's addictive. I just did a quick count of what I can see on my office wall and came up with 90 different cups, mugs, steins, shot glasses etc. Always on the lookout for more.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1482
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 08-11-2011 02:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
One of my favorite pieces is an Apollo 16 porcelain beer mug with just the patch emblem on it. It has gold trim and appears to be high quality although I know nothing about ceramics. It's just a classy looking piece of usable space memorabilia, and it looks good on the shelf. I have sipped a beer or two from it and it functions perfectly, just like Apollo 16.

MarylandSpace
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Posts: 1413
From:
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 08-11-2011 05:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MarylandSpace   Click Here to Email MarylandSpace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Count me in!

I have NASA Wallops Island, National Air and Space Museum Wright Flyer, Huntsville Rocket Science, and my all time favorite, Rhinebeck Airdrome in my current coffee/tea cup rotation.

I also use my Apollo 11 glass for a sip of rum and Coca Cola... well, maybe more than a sip.

sts205cdr
Member

Posts: 745
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 08-11-2011 06:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for sts205cdr   Click Here to Email sts205cdr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've got a cupboard full of 'em. Can't seem to resist, either!

David Carey
Member

Posts: 986
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 08-11-2011 10:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just one here.

For those who might know what the protocol for mug presentations was at the time, is this something that would have really been used by Aldrin on the recovery vessel (implying in-quarantine) or was it more likely a post-Hornet, post-release gift?

Perhaps unknowable, but I've always wondered....

A ceramic coffee mug, 5" tall and 4½" diameter at the base, from the personal collection of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. One side features the USS Horner recovery emblem, and this mug was probably given to Aldrin in a period of time shortly after the recovery.

saturn1b
Member

Posts: 159
From: Westcliffe, CO
Registered: Jun 2006

posted 08-11-2011 10:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for saturn1b   Click Here to Email saturn1b     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have that same mug from the Hornet but instead of Aldrin's signature, mine says Hugh Gage in gold. Anyone know who he is?

Rusty B
Member

Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 08-13-2011 12:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rusty B   Click Here to Email Rusty B     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have several. The oldest is a pair of drinking glasses with Titan I missles on them.

Russ Still
Member

Posts: 535
From: Atlanta, GA USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-16-2011 10:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Russ Still   Click Here to Email Russ Still     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a couple dozen that have worked their way onto my shelves over the years.

Tykeanaut
Member

Posts: 2233
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 08-16-2011 11:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tykeanaut   Click Here to Email Tykeanaut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a few pottery mugs that I think I got from Space Photos back in the 70's. They are in the loft, but from memory I think I have a Shuttle stein, ASTP mug and small Skylab tanakard.

jutrased
Member

Posts: 66
From: North Smithfield, RI USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 11-14-2018 09:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for jutrased   Click Here to Email jutrased     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I too collect space mugs and glasses. I came across this old thread and wondered if anyone could help to identify the manufacturer of these glasses.

The glasses are unique as they all have the Apollo 11 plaque on the front, and an image printed on the inside. I purchased the first glass at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the mid 70's. It had no location and the image of the Apollo 11 crew on the inside.

When eBay started, I found that there were many variations of this glass. Since that first glass I have purchased 19 variations. nine different locations (KSC, JSC, Langley, etc.) and four different images: Apollo 11 Crew, Lunar Walk, Apollo 15, Skylab. But I have never been able to positively determine the manufacture. Some possibilities are HouzeArt Glass or Culver Glass. Would anyone know the origin of these glasses?

I also have a collection of over 50 variations of the Apollo 11 plaque in different sizes and materials.

BMacKinnon
Member

Posts: 236
From: Waterford, MI. USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted 11-21-2018 09:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BMacKinnon   Click Here to Email BMacKinnon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thought that this set of 20+ glass was another Libbey set of glassware but I am not certain. I now have 8 of them and one is different from the 20 in the photos in the previous post — Lunar Walk - John F. Kennedy Space Center.

There are some other "space" glasses that are similar but have John Glenn on them. Might be the same manufacturer. Happy Hunting!

Philip
Member

Posts: 6211
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 11-22-2018 03:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sometimes mugs used by flight controllers during "important" missions become available. Nice idea!

BMacKinnon
Member

Posts: 236
From: Waterford, MI. USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted 11-10-2019 01:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BMacKinnon   Click Here to Email BMacKinnon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by jutrased:
The glasses are unique as they all have the Apollo 11 plaque on the front, and an image printed on the inside...
I now have 15 different glasses from this set. I found two more that he doesn't have. And it appears that his #1 and #16 are the same glass.

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3599
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 11-10-2019 04:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've always been thinking about doing something like this on cS with space commemorative mugs, glasses, plates, bottles, plaques, and related souvenirs, and/or memorabilia, so I am glad to see that it's already a topic here!

While an avid collector of many space memorabilia categories since my high school days during the early Apollo era, I was never a keen or even a casual collector of all the glassware and ceramic pieces as depicted here. The field just wasn't a focus of mine with very little attention.

But there must be hundreds of items that I have acquired in this collecting area throughout the last few decades, with probably about 150 or so different pieces displayed here in one of my home-office hutches. Many were gifts, some were space-type awards and mementos that I have gotten, along with the majority of them acquired from other space collections and outside purchases.

Some of my favorite pieces, though, came from launch or post-launch parties here on the Florida Space Coast, and from many special events and functions, along with several aerospace contractor companies, and highlight anniversary celebrations.

Cagedfalcon
Member

Posts: 84
From:
Registered: Jul 2019

posted 11-28-2019 05:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cagedfalcon   Click Here to Email Cagedfalcon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a few. All named, barring one, two are numbered on bottom. These have been used, crazing and chipping.

BMacKinnon
Member

Posts: 236
From: Waterford, MI. USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted 02-28-2023 06:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BMacKinnon   Click Here to Email BMacKinnon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by jutrased:
Would anyone know the origin of these glasses?
With the addition of these three there are 25 different glasses I have found for this set. Four of them I have not been able to locate and purchase yet, so
I only have 21 on hand.

I wonder who could shed some light on these mysterious glasses?

Watts Way
New Member

Posts: 1
From: St. Louis, MO, USA
Registered: Mar 2023

posted 04-10-2023 02:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Watts Way     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cagedfalcon:
I have a few...
I don't know if you're looking for info on the mug at the bottom of your post that carries the words "Space Shuttle" on it. The logo in the middle is the McDonnell Douglas logo. This was part of their unsuccessful bid for the shuttle program.

My late father was part of McDonnell's team, and I have a lot of info from McDonnell, including an identical mug. Not sure the coffee tastes any better than from any other mug, but it's a lot of fun to use it!

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