With its bright magenta transfer printing on bright white bone china, this mug conveys a crisp elegance, while presenting an unexpected combination of subjects. The popular agricultural tributes, known as "farmer's arms" were usually paired with  other farm-related prints, often in verse. Instead the reverse side features a typically sentimental childhood scene in which Tom tearfully trudges to school (on the first day?) accompanied by the dog he will have to leave behind. Both prints are based on finely detailed engravings and are applied with care. The delicate rococo handle is appropriate to the overall finesse of the piece.

The high quality of this mug--both in the potting and printing--relates more closely to the bone china tea wares of the nineteenth century than to the typically more rough-and-tumble juvenile mugs.