I am really excited to share my vintage Norcrest Blue Cat collection with you all today and share some tips for collecting and finding pieces from this set. The darling kitty cat set has whimsical pieces like a butter dish that has a cute blue kitty cat sleeping on a fluffy pillow, the tea bag holder that says “I Will Hold The Bag” and a pair of oil and vinegar cruets that have cutest little cat faces. This set brings a smile to my face everyday!!
The Norcrest Blue Cat set was manufactured in Japan in the mid to late 1950s and possibly early 1960s by the PY/Miyao company and was sold by Norcrest. The Norcrest Blue Cat set is elusive in some ways to complete as it was not produced in mass quantities in Japan like so many other ceramics of the era. Each piece is usually numbered on the bottom that starts with a “CT” and if you can find a piece that still has its original Norcrest foil label then that makes it even more fabulous. The kitty cat pieces are absolutely adorable and you can see why any collector would rather not part with their collection.
The Norcrest Blue Cat set consists of these 12 pieces:
- Teapot – CT-1
- Oil and Vinegar – CT-2
- Jam Jar- CT-3
- Salt and Pepper Shakers – CT-4
- Sugar Jar – CT-5
- Creamer/pitcher CT-6
- Butter Dish – CT-7
- Egg Cup- CT-8
- Cat Bowl – CT-9
- Cookie Jar CT-10
- Wall Plaque – CT-11
- Teabag Holder – CT-12
- Tea Cup ?
It is rumored that the Norcrest Blue Cat collection may actually include 13 pieces and that a tea cup marked CT-13 is out there somewhere. I have never ever seen the tea cup, I can only imagine how adorable it is and really don’t want to create fictitious images in my mind of something that may or may not exist….. I sure hope there is a tea cup, but if anyone knows of the tea cup and can share a photo with me I would be incredibly grateful.
5 Tips for Collecting The Norcrest Blue Cat
- You will need to diligently search for pieces in this set. Because the set was not mass produced there are not very many pieces that come up for sale but don’t let that discourage you. Be diligent in searching if you really want to add to your collection.
- You can find pieces of The Norcrest Blue Cat on Ebay, Etsy, Mercari, and social media like Instagram and Facebook (Facebook collector groups are treasure troves so join them) The pieces that tend to come up regularly I think are the blue cat wall plaque, creamer, and sugar/jam jar, followed by the salt and pepper shakers. When I say they come up regularly I mean you can probably find them a couple times a year on Ebay and Etsy but again, you have to search diligently every day for new listings. Rarer pieces are the cookie jar, egg cups, bowl, butter dish and oil and vinegar cruets.
- Check for damage. The ears and the tail tend to get the most dings and chips. The necks on the cruet toppers tend to crack and the pillow of the butter dish gets crazing and dings and chips on the corners.
- When searching for the Norcrest Blue Cat use keywords like “PY”, “Miyao”, “Japan” in your search words and even use the key words “anthropomorphic” and “Kitsch” and even “Kitschy Cute”.
- Setup notifications on Ebay to be alerted by SMS or email when new items are added with your keywords
I recently (within the last year) started collecting the Norcrest Blue Cat pieces. I am extremely diligent in my searching and within a year have amassed almost a full collection. I am however still searching for the cookie jar and egg cups….and rumored tea cup so if anyone has these items please let me know and, I do have some duplicates like the Norcrest Blue Cat butter dish, creamer/pitcher, wall plaques, and oil and vinegar cruets so if you are searching for these or interested in trading for Holt-Howard Starry Eyed Santas or PY items please let me know.
