1986 - Images Cups (porcelain, stoneware, Suprema)

(8 oz)  Available Patterns:  Blue Floral, Calico Rose, Lace Bouquet, Sandscape, Normandy, Peach Garland, Queen's Lace, Rose Trellis, Garden Row, Casey's Flower, Cranberry Blossom, Blossoms in Lace, Zenith, Hibiscus, Country Hearth, Optic, Misty White, Sentimental Ribbons, and dozens more, totalling 40 at least. 

Porcelain: Garden Row.  Suprema: Normandy, Intrigue, Peach Garland. 

When the Natural Images product line was introduced in 1985, each of the new beige patterns came with straight-sided stoneware mugs.  The Images cup style did not appear until early 1986, when the white-bodied Design Images line was introduced.  White patterns came with porcelain cups, and by mid 1986 the beige patterns would include cups in the Images style too, but made of stoneware.  With a slight translucency and a glossy finish, porcelain cups are quite different from stoneware.

Beige Stoneware: Cranberry Blossom, Needlepoint.  Stoneware is thicker and more opaque than porcelain.

Both types were manufactured overseas, and many came with a "Made in Japan" sticker on the bottom, despite the Corning name and address also printed there.  White Images cups made the transition to Suprema during 1987, but beige Suprema was not manufactured until 1991.

(Photo: white porcelain backstamp)

Design Images and Natural Images were combined to form a single Images line about 1993, but this survived only another year or two, and the Images cup disappeared in the mid 1990s.  At least four patterns (Misty White, Optic, Peach Garland, Zenith) would outlive the product line, and be offered with narrow tapered Occasions cups instead.

(Photo: beige stoneware backstamp)

Porcelain and stoneware cups have a slightly different shape, with a thicker and chunkier handle.  They are marked in grey ink with "CORNING ... Corning N.Y. USA ... Microwave Safe (or Microwavable)".  The exact wording is not terribly important, the main idea is that both types are stamped with ink rather than embossed lettering.

(Photo: Suprema backstamp) 

Conversely Suprema always has an embossed backstamp, and Suprema Images cups generally say "CORNING ... USA ... Microwave OK".

There are no creamers or sugar bowls corresponding with this cup style.

Related Articles:

Natural Images (1985)
Design Images (1986) 

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