Maggie's Mug

We recently ran a prize draw for Kathryn Leigh Scott's novel Dark Passages, asking readers the place where Maggie Evans worked in Collinsport. The answer, of course, was the diner at the Collinsport Inn, which prompted Keith Dunmire to write in and share a picture of this treasure – an original cup and saucer used on the set. Keith takes up the story. "We acquired them some years ago from a prop department in New York. Kathryn autographed them a few years ago and recognised them immediately."

The pieces were part of the Desert Tan range produced by Stirling Vitrified China of East Liverpool, Ohio. The company was a major supplier for restaurants from the 1940s onwards, and pieces from this range still occasionally surface on Ebay. "I couldn't resist sharing the photo of our Collinsport dinnerware," says Keith. "It's hard to look at them and not think about who may have handled them."