Circa 1959-1969: The Tom and Jerry was an alcoholic egg and milk drink, popular in the 30s and 40s. It was served warm from a large bowl in handled mugs. Homer Laughlin had already been producing this mug with a different handle when Fiestapottery was being designed. Adopting the ring handle from the general Fiesta line, the Tom and Jerry mug was born. The distinctive ring handle is all you get for design on the T&J mug (it is one of only two pieces that is without the legendary rings, the other is the dripcut syrup pitcher, that was also borrowed from elsewhere). We use the Tom and Jerry mug for coffee and it's just the perfect size. Nice thick walls keep the coffee warm longer than contemporary cups. These pieces were actually hand shaped with metal tools to achive the unusual concave shape. The wonderful hourglass shape couldn't be produced by a mold alone, so workers shaped them (thus explaining why some are more curvy and thinner than other mugs). Because of all the handwork there is much variation in the Fiestapottery pieces. Since the foot was shaped by hand they couldn't be marked in the mold so they were also hand-stamped with the Genuine Fiestaink mark (some cups escaped the marking process, so it is not uncommon to also find the T&J mug unmarked). This example in original, hard to find medium green is in excellent condition and it shows no use or wear or damage.