Desilu was a powerhouse in the television industry by the late 1950’s. Thus, a department called Desilu Sales Inc. was created to handle the sales, marketing and distribution of its shows and productions to markets across the country. Promotional items were created as gifts that were not available to the general public, such as this rare coffee mug.
The gold rimmed, off-white ceramic mug features a Lucy Ricardo stick figure along with Lucille Ball’s signature and the Desilu Sales logo underneath. What makes this particular mug extra special is a name was printed in the “Hi!” bubble. Could this be Bill Frawley or Bill Asher? Hard to say but most of these were made without a name. Other promotional gifts included pencil cups, ashtrays, letter openers and more. See the previous posts of Desilu Sales items as examples.