The English customarily sipped spiced beverages from a bowl passed from person to person in hopes of enhancing the chances of good crops or good health. Each would kiss the vessel, which came to be known as the loving-cup. Thanks to the generosity of John and Jo Ann Schweitzer of Overland Park, Kansas, the MU Libraries have 34 commemorative Royal Doulton Loving-Cups on permanent display.
The Royal Doulton Limited Edition Loving-Cups and Jugs are collectors items that were produced in London to celebrate literary classics and royal events. The libraries' collection dates from 1930 to 1982 and includes cups that celebrate Charles Dickens, the Three Musketeers, and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee.
John Schweitzer, who passed away on September 26, 2006, graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a business degree in 1952 and went on to found the Kansas City company, Alta-Pak Midwest, Inc. A long-time member of the Friends of MU Libraries, he was responsible for helping the libraries acquire the Dorothy Doughty porcelain bird collection that is also on display in the Ellis Library colonnade.
The MU Libraries extend deepest appreciation to the Schweitzer family for making display of this collection possible.
