Description: The set, two maple leaf people, is named “The Leaf People.” It is the last known order produced by Regal China.

  • The girl is the salt. Her blue sash on her back creatively contains an “S.”
  • The boy is the pepper. He has the letter “P” on his back pockets.
  • The green base is in the shape of Vermont.

Shaker Manufacturer: Regal China
Number Manufactured: 400
Convention Theme: Shakers “R” Us
Convention Location: Burlington, VT
Hosts: Northeast Chapter
Original Price: $51

From “The First Ten Years, a History of the First Ten Commemoratives,” by Steve Justin in the February, 1997 Club Newsletter:

This set is two Maple Leaf people – a girl marked “S” on the back 3H & a boy 2H – on a forest green color base in the shape of Vermont, a design decided upon by the chapter.

Negotiations to produce the set were held with Regal China and all went smoothly. The chapter called to get an exact date of delivery. The response was no answer. Finally, some one picked up the phone and said that the company was closed. Unknown to the chapter, Regal China had filed for bankruptcy, and had closed their doors on June 30th, 1992.

So, where were the shakers? A few days prior to that, a truck was loaded up with the shakers and was somewhere on the highways. Norma Montaigne received a phone call on the weekend prior to the convention. It was the hotel saying that they had some pallets on their loading dock, addressed to her, and a trucker was there to deliver the shakers, whether they wanted them or not. The driver had been told to leave them there and not to contact Regal. The driver’s job, as far as he was concerned, had been done, and that he could not wait around. It turned out that not only were there the 400 sets of shakers, but also the original molds, and some were broken. The remaining molds were destroyed, according to club procedures.

The chapter tried to contact Regal China and even tried to sue the trucker. Without copies of any contracts or other written proof, the matter, after many months, was dropped. The set was the last order ever produced by Regal China.

The bottom is marked “7th ANNUAL SALT & PEPPER NOVELTY SHAKERS CLUB CONVENTION BURLINGTON VERMONT 1992, MFG. BY:REGAL CHINA CORP.” There are two felt pads on the bottom, which could be a mark for the set, as this and the 1991 set were the only S & P Club sets made by Regal China.

The #1 set, which was trimmed in gold, sold at the convention auction for $1000. A set sold at the 1996 convention auction for $150.00. Pre-convention cost, if picked up, was $45, a bit pricey at the time. All know remaining sets are in private collections.