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Plate 117:  Adding a souvenir mug to the collection, Part 3: examining the bottom of the mug
(This plate added SEP 2004)

The bottom of the 1977 Silver Jubilee mug is embossed with lettering. The four photos below reveal the details of the embossed lettering.

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SUBJECT: bottom of mug with embossed ENGLAND CAMERA: Sony DSC-P92 Cyber-shot MEDIA: Sony MSA-64A Memory Stick at 1.2 megapixel resolution FILE: JPEG from Sony Image Transfer version 1.00.1015.01 EDITING: Adobe Photoshop SUBJECT: bottom of mug with embossed C & E CAMERA: Sony DSC-P92 Cyber-shot MEDIA: Sony MSA-64A Memory Stick at 1.2 megapixel resolution FILE: JPEG from Sony Image Transfer version 1.00.1015.01 EDITING: Adobe Photoshop
Bottom of mug, embossed ENGLAND Bottom of mug, embossed C & E
SUBJECT: pencil rubbing of embossed ENGLAND CAMERA: Sony DSC-P92 Cyber-shot MEDIA: Sony MSA-64A Memory Stick at 1.2 megapixel resolution FILE: JPEG from Sony Image Transfer version 1.00.1015.01 EDITING: Adobe Photoshop SUBJECT: pencil rubbing of embossed C & E CAMERA: Sony DSC-P92 Cyber-shot MEDIA: Sony MSA-64A Memory Stick at 1.2 megapixel resolution FILE: JPEG from Sony Image Transfer version 1.00.1015.01 EDITING: Adobe Photoshop
Pencil rubbing revealing ENGLAND Pencil rubbing revealing C & E
The four photos above show the embossed lettering on the bottom of the mug. In the top two photos, the mug was positioned so that the 100-watt flood key light would cause the lettering to cast shadows, thus helping to delineate the letters. Unfortunately, the embossing of the letters is in such a low relief that the delineation provided by the shadows is indistinct.

In order to provide better delineation of the embossed lettering, a disk, with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the mug's bottom, was cut from a blank sheet of white paper. The paper disk was then centered within the rim of the mug's bottom, and a black pencil was rubbed gently across the disk over those areas which covered the embossed lettering. The two bottom photos show how this pencil-rubbing technique assisted in delineating the embossed lettering.

Also, the paper disk is a permanent record of the lettering on the bottom of the mug, and should be kept with the mug as part of the collection. When the mug is put on display, the paper disk can be used as part of the display, thus permitting a viewer to see what is on the bottom of the mug without needing to turn the mug over. This would be especially helpful if the mug were displayed behind glass.

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