During the Victorian era huge, bushy moustaches were all the rage among guys who wanted to look like proper gentlemen, especially those who served in the British Army, where moustaches were required from 1860 to 1916.
The Victorian gentlemen used various products like oils, waxes and dyes to keep their lip accessory in proper fighting form, which led to a problem when drinking tea, since these products didn't hold up well when exposed to warm liquids.
So circa 1850-60 an English potter named Harvey Adams came up with a practical yet elegant solution- the moustache cup, a mug with a small semicircular ledge inside the rim that allowed a moustachioed man to sip without messing up his lip hair.
Moustache cups became a big hit with the social elite in England and the U.S., but it's hard to find one with a "Made In America" mark on it because many makers lied and said their mugs were made in England due to the demand for British ceramics.
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