Object of the Day: A Trade Card for the Great Eastern Tea Co.

Click above image to enlarge.

From my collection of ephemera, we have another trade card. This American card advertises for the San Francisco-based Great Eastern Tea Co. as well as their Colima Baking Powder.

The front of the card is alive with a depiction of a colorful basket of flowers. Being a stock card, it also features a spot on the front (in the form of a card on the basket) wherein the advertiser could have put additional information. The Great Eastern Tea Company seems to have declined to do this. Sadly, the back is mostly unreadable as it has been glued into an album and, then, removed, leaving parts of the page behind. I’m not going to try to recreate it as I usually do, but instead, let you try to read it on your own.

Antique Image of the Day: A Trade Card for Mowbray & Son, 1830

The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the reign of King William IV, circa 1830, this trade card advertises for Mowbray & Son, a “Wholesale & retail genuine tea dealers and grocers” which was based on Newport High Street. The card emphatically shows the non-European origins of its goods by featuring a depiction of a man in Chinese-style dress, seated on a crate amongst cargo and loaves of sugar. 


Tea from China became available in England in the late Seventeenth Century, but the cost and rarity made it a fashionable drink available only to the wealthy.   Increased availability over the Eighteenth century saw that tea could be enjoyed by the population at large. 


This particular trade card was printed to publicize the services of Mowbray & Son, as a source of this coveted tea.  Such cards were not only useful advertising tools, but also served as a popular form of entertainment.  They were collected and enjoyed for their ingenuity and artwork, serving also as reminders of particular tradesmen.  

To Project and Serve: A Barge Ware Teapot, 1870

Barge Ware Teapot
English, 1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This little teapot, though it puts us in mind of the ordinary brown British “Brown Betty,” is a rather special model. This pot has a depressed, bulbous body with a frilled rim, and a domed, wide lid which is surmounted by a flattened knop (decorative ornament). It is glazed with a streaked rich brown color which has been applied with cream-colored sprigs, and garlands, and with birds in shades of green, blue and pink. A sentimental cartouche with impressed, blue lettering reads, “A PRESENT TO A FRIEND.”


The work of Mason, Cash and Co., this pot with its rustic brown lead-glaze and applied decoration is known as “Measham ware” or 'Barge ware', and is associated with use on canal boats.

History's Runway: The Tomalin Tea Gown, 1895

Tea Gown
1895
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Meant to be worn for an informal tea with close friends or family, this purple silk velvet dress features puffed elbow-length sleeves and a full, long-trained skirt which falls from below the bust.

The elbow bands, V neckline and front of the skirt are trimmed with embroidered bands of lilac and green silk in an Art Nouveau design.

Print of the Day: Blue Cross Tea, 1900

Hoarding Poster for Blue Cross Tea
England, 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This British chromolithograph was designed as a hoarding poster. In essence, posters on hoardings were tiled repeatedly so that the image was recurring many times over and seen in full. This design which focuses on the trademark and brand on an uncluttered and brightly-colored ground would have been quickly identifiable and easily read.

The poster was designed in 1900 for Blue Cross Tea. The design features a grocer’s shop which also advertises for Blue Cross Tea, a clever way of reinforcing the brand. A well-dressed man leaves the shop with a package of biscuits on the end of his umbrella. He appears to be saying:

“The Best for Me, It’s Blue Cross Tea.” This is the work of Stewart Browne for The British & Beningtons Tea Trading Association Ltd.

Unusual Artifacts: A Ceramic Tea Canister, 1760-70

Bohea Tea Cannister
c. 1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As we already know, in the Eighteenth Century, tea was quite a luxury and was therefore stored in vessels which not only connoted its value, but kept it safe. It's difficult for us to think of such common items as salt and tea to have any real value when we look at them through modern eyes, but that just makes us wonder what, two centuries from now, will be commonplace that we presently assign great worth.

A fitting container for valuable tea, this tea canister and cover are made of salt-glazed stoneware. Rectangular, with a flat top and wooden cover, it is painted in strong colors with small figures in landscapes and, on the front, in a panel surmounted by a mask and flanked by flowers, urns and scrollwork, reads the inscription, "FINE BOHEA TEA."

This sort of domestic, ceramic tea canister tended to resemble miniature versions of the dramatic japanned metal vessels from which loose tea was dispensed in shops. This particular example was most likely made at one of the Yorkshire pottery concerns rather than in Staffordshire.

The fine quality and condition of this piece suggests that it was infrequently, if ever, used and may, in fact, have been employed as part of a shop window display. 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Tin-Glazed Earthenware Tea Tray, 1743

Tea Tray
Delftware, 1743
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This delicate tea tray of tin-glazed earthenware depicts a scene of a tea-party in an interior, the whole of which is surrounded by an attractive foliate and scroll border. A Greek key pattern accents the lip around the edge. The reverse is marked with the inscription: 17- : E + A : -43. Two of the tray's original seven bun feet are missing.

Such tea trays were important items in the home as they were employed to carry the teapot and other utensils to the table. Since, in the early Eighteenth Century, tea was an extravagance few could afford, it was prepared by the staff of a wealthy household directly in front of guests and family (as opposed to in the kitchen) as a display of prestige. As the price of tea began to fall, the theatricality of tea-making became less fashionable.

Very few delftware tea trays like this one survive. This example is especially interesting in that the shape is based on silver trays made between about 1710 and 1730. Humorously, a tray of the same shape is shown in the tea-party scene which has been painted on the tray itself. A teapot and tea bowls are also depicted on the tray.

Items of tin-glazed earthenware were fired twice--the initial firing was done before any decoration or glaze was applied. The result of this "biscuit" firing was a hard and slightly porous object which was then dipped in glaze and set on boards to dry. They were then painted and decorated before being fired for a second time.

The Home Beautiful: A Barge Ware Teapot, 1870

Barge Ware Teapot
English, 1870
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This little teapot, though it puts us in mind of the ordinary brown British “Brown Betty,” is a rather special model. This pot has a depressed, bulbous body with a frilled rim, and a domed, wide lid which is surmounted by a flattened knop (decorative ornament). It is glazed with a streaked rich brown color which has been applied with cream-colored sprigs, and garlands, and with birds in shades of green, blue and pink. A sentimental cartouche with impressed, blue lettering reads, “A PRESENT TO A FRIEND.”


The work of Mason, Cash and Co., this pot with its rustic brown lead-glaze and applied decoration is known as “Measham ware” or 'Barge ware', and is associated with use on canal boats.

Mastery of Design: Queen Mary's Ruby and Thirteen Cameo Tea Brooch, Sixteenth to Nineteenth Centuries

Crown Copyright The Royal Collection Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Mary rescued more jewelry from being broken apart than Sting has rescued Rain Forest trees. This brooch of gold, Burmese rubies and thirteen onyx cameos was part of an impressive parure dating back to the Sixteenth Century. Queen Mary was known to wear the brooch for teas and less formal occasions when diamonds would not have been appropriate. The current arrangement of the cameos dated to the early Nineteenth Century when the piece was reconstructed with additional rubies and a mounted hook for a detachable pendant drop. Her Majesty admired the brooch and accompanying suite which had been part of another collection, acquiring it in 1932.

The cameos depict a rather odd assortment of subjects:

1. Two female figures, in long dresses.
2. Seated male nude, possibly Dionysus, approached by a satyr blowing a horn.
3, Male nude running towards a bonfire.
4. Male nude, making a sacrifice at an altar.
5, Orpheus, nude, with a small animal.
6. Female musician with her right breast exposed.
7. The Adoration of the Magi
8. Male musician, wearing a tunic.
9. Cupid, walking to the right, reading from a scroll.
10. Cupid, walking to the left, carrying a vessel.
11. Cupid, facing left, teasing a bird.
12. Cupid, walking to the left, again.
13. Kneeling male nude, offering an object to a seated male wearing a tunic, possibly a slave serving his master.

Treat of the Week: 2013's Annual Valentine's Day Tea

My favorite holiday with my parents and Bertie is Valentine’s Day. Each year, I look forward to February when my mother, assisted by my father, stages a gorgeous English tea to celebrate the day.  You've seen the two past year's Valentine's Teas, and this year's is even more gorgeous!

Our annual Valentine’s tea reminds me of the proper English teas we enjoyed visiting London’s Belgravia and Mayfair, especially at the stunning Basil Street Hotel (now, sadly, closed—the building converted into offices).   Hours and hours (days) of preparation goes into this tea each year, and I genuinely appreciate it. 

Let’s take a look at this year’s festivities.

With the table beautifully set with sterling, crystal, and my mother's wedding china, the scene was magnificently set.  A host of gorgeous tea sandwiches which included rosemary ham, roast beef, turkey, boiled eggs, pancetta, chicken spread, beautiful blue cheese paste, olive tapanade, cucumber and assorted other savories began the festivities.  

 

After these savory delights, lovely tea and Proseco with Creme de Cassis accompanied homemade scones, mocha-topped gingerbread, chocolate-dipped strawberries and apricots, hand-molded chocolates, delicate tarts of French pastry crème and glazed berries and amazingly decorated petifore of creamy pound cake. Rich raisin bread spread with lovely cream cheese added a cool sweetness to the event. 

I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. So much work went into preparing for this special event. It truly is my favorite event...

To Serve and Project: The William Grundy Kettle, 1753

Tea Kettle
William Grundy, 1753
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Though we most often associate the act of drinking tea with Britain, tea wasn’t imported into Britain until the Seventeenth Century when it was used more as a mild stimulant or medicinal drink than just a beverage.

As the passion for China and things Chinese grew in Britain, tea became a fashionable and popular drink despite its high cost.  Before the fashion for “tea time” caught on, dinner was served around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, after which tea or coffee were often served.

Tea was always  made at the tea table by the lady of the house who employed an elegant silver or porcelain tea service. Tea kettles became popular at the beginning of the 18th century. At the time, these kettles often featured a small spirit lamp in the base to keep the water hot.  Servants used a tea kettle to bring the boiling water required for making tea from the kitchen to the tea table where it could be used by the lady of the house.

The sterling kettle and stand pictured above were made by William Grundy, who was apprenticed as a silversmith in 1731 and probably died before 1780. The engraved coat of arms is that of the Stacye family.

Until the 1730s, tea kettles (the costliest part of the tea service) were generally plain and unadorned, however, the influence of Rococo taste transformed kettles into a vehicle for extravagant ornament. This kettle by Grundy is chased with Rococo scrollwork and floral motifs.  Its domed lid is surmounted by an elegant finial in the shape of a bunch of grapes—a popular visual motif when this was made around 1753. 

Within 50 years, this kettle would have fallen into disuse, most likely replaced with a more fashionable tea urn.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: An Antique Tea Caddy, 1740-1770

Tea Chest
French, 1740-1770
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early days of Stalking the Belle Époque, I posted an article about an antique tea caddy in my own collection.
Tea caddies or tea chests were important items in an Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century home. Tea was a precious commodity. It was therefore kept securely in elegant locking cases so that servants would not be tempted to steal the valuable leaves. Very often, these chests often contained several compartments in which different kinds of tea or, even, sugar were kept safe.

This tea caddy of japanned wood is lined with pale pink silk and contains multiple compartments. Made in France between 1740-1770, it shows the ebonized color-scheme which was popular during the period.

Caddies were often adorned with Chinese motifs, demonstrating the source of the tea. Since actual Asian lacquer was prohibitively expensive for most households, the look was replicated by European artisans who painted the chests and applied translucent varnishes to imitate proper lacquer. In England, this process was known as ‘japanning’.

This caddy is by Martin Brothers of Paris. According to the V&A, “In 1730 the Martin brothers of Paris were granted a monopoly on their particular recipe for such varnishes and the term ‘vernis Martin’ or ‘Martin’s varnish’ is now the common term in France for any decoration of this type, whether or not made to their recipes.”

Print of the Day: Blue Cross Tea, 1900

Hoarding Poster for Blue Cross Tea
England, 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This British chromolithograph was designed as a hoarding poster. In essence, posters on hoardings were tiled repeatedly so that the image was recurring many times over and seen in full. This design which focuses on the trademark and brand on an uncluttered and brightly-colored ground would have been quickly identifiable and easily read.

The poster was designed in 1900 for Blue Cross Tea. The design features a grocer’s shop which also advertises for Blue Cross Tea, a clever way of reinforcing the brand. A well-dressed man leaves the shop with a package of biscuits on the end of his umbrella. He appears to be saying:

“The Best for Me, It’s Blue Cross Tea.” This is the work of Stewart Browne for The British & Beningtons Tea Trading Association Ltd.

Object of the Day: A Trade Card for the Great Eastern Tea Co.

Click above image to enlarge.

From my collection of ephemera, we have another trade card. This American card advertises for the San Francisco-based Great Eastern Tea Co. as well as their Colima Baking Powder.

The front of the card is alive with a depiction of a colorful basket of flowers. Being a stock card, it also features a spot on the front (in the form of a card on the basket) wherein the advertiser could have put additional information. The Great Eastern Tea Company seems to have declined to do this. Sadly, the back is mostly unreadable as it has been glued into an album and, then, removed, leaving parts of the page behind. I’m not going to try to recreate it as I usually do, but instead, let you try to read it on your own.

Unfolding Pictures: The Tea Party Fan, 1760s

Fan of Painted Kid Leather
C. 1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The image of a lady and an African servant was quite fashionable in the Eighteenth Century.  Such images graced everything from paintings to snuffboxes, but this one is unusual since it’s the only one thus far found on a fan.

This image is called “The Tea Party,” which is rather queer since she’s not drinking tea. The fan is made of kid leather. Painted on one side is a trompe l'oeil pattern of white lace, blue fabric and pink striped ribbons.  The piece was made around 1760 in Britain.

To Serve and Project: The William Grundy Kettle, 1753

Tea Kettle
William Grundy, 1753
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Though we most often associate the act of drinking tea with Britain, tea wasn’t  imported into Britain until the Seventeenth Century when it was used more as a mild stimulant or medicinal drink than just a beverage.

As the passion for China and things Chinese grew in Britain, tea became a fashionable and popular drink despite its high cost.  Before the fashion for “tea time” caught on, dinner was served around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, after which tea or coffee were often served.

Tea was always  made at the tea table by the lady of the house who employed an elegant silver or porcelain tea service. Tea kettles became popular at the beginning of the 18th century. At the time, these kettles often featured a small spirit lamp in the base to keep the water hot.  Servants used a tea kettle to bring the boiling water required for making tea from the kitchen to the tea table where it could be used by the lady of the house.

The sterling kettle and stand pictured above were made by William Grundy, who was apprenticed as a silversmith in 1731 and probably died before 1780. The engraved coat of arms is that of the Stacye family.

Until the 1730s, tea kettles (the costliest part of the tea service) were generally plain and unadorned, however, the influence of Rococo taste transformed kettles into a vehicle for extravagant ornament. This kettle by Grundy is chased with Rococo scrollwork and floral motifs.  Its domed lid is surmounted by an elegant finial in the shape of a bunch of grapes—a popular visual motif when this was made around 1753. 

Within 50 years, this kettle would have fallen into disuse, most likely replaced with a more fashionable tea urn.

Object of the Day: A Trade Card for the Central Pacific Tea Co.

New York’s Central Pacific Tea Company, in the late Nineteenth Century, was known for their marketing gimmicks and give-aways.  In addition to the usual trade cards like the one pictured here, the Central Pacific Tea Company enticed customers with offers to present them with free gifts with every purchase.

This card, dating to about 1880, demonstrates this marketing technique and also provides us a very fashionable image of the era.  Pictured is a well-dressed lass with an exotic bird.  The keeping of such birds was considered elegant and the feathered beauties acted both as pets and home décor. 

As was often the case with American cards of the period, there’s nothing printed on the back.  The front reads:

CENTRAL PACIFIC TEA CO.,

No. 660 BROADWAY,            ALBANY, N.Y.

S. McKnight, Manager

---------

Big Presents with Teas and Coffee

Antique Image of the Day: A Trade Card for Mowbray & Son, 1830

The Victoria & Albert Museum

As you’ve seen, I’ve gotten rather fond of Victorian Trade Cards.  This one is actually from the beginning of the reign of King William IV--1830.  Here, we see a trade card for Mowbray & Son, a “Wholesale & retail genuine tea dealers and grocers” which was based on Newport High Street. The card emphatically shows the non-European origins of its goods by featuring a depiction of a man in Chinese-style dress, seated on a crate amongst cargo and loaves of sugar.


Tea from China became available in England in the late Seventeenth Century, but the cost and rarity made it a fashionable drink available only to the wealthy.   Increased availability over the Eighteenth century saw that tea could be enjoyed by the population at large.


This particular trade card was printed to publicize the services of Mowbray & Son, as a source of this coveted tea.  Such cards were not only useful advertising tools, but also served as a popular form of entertainment.  They were collected and enjoyed for their ingenuity and artwork, serving also as reminders of particular tradesmen.  

Unusual Artifacts: The Moore Brothers Camel Pot, 1876

The Victoria & Albert Museum


On the fanciful side of the teapot spectrum is this teapot which depicts a man tying a pack on the hump of a camel. The camel's exaggerated neck forms the spout.

Camels were a favorite subject for teapot makers in the Eighteenth Century. The fashion was revived in the 1870s during the frenzy for Asian-inspired subjects.

The Thomas Goode co. retailed this teapot. Thomas Goode was founded in 1827 in Mayfair, London proudly specializing in luxury goods. The firm often commissioned pieces to be made by high-end manufacturers such as Moore Brothers. Moore Brothers produced this whimsical vessel which bears the marks of both the maker and retailer.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Burslem Teapot, 1896

The Victoria & Albert Museum

The English teapot has long served as a successful communication device. Not only did the choice of teapot speak of a household's tastes, interests and status, the designers and manufacturers of teapots were afforded great opportunities for imagination and the showcasing of their strengths and skills.

Teapots could take any form from the traditional and simple to the opulently painted and gilded to even the figural--exotic animals and people. The latter examples abandoned convention, and even practicality, but satisfied both creator and owner and provided hours of proud discussion by both parties.

This elegant teapot plays with tradition by introducing a fanciful and complex shape. Such a shape showed the designer's skill and sense of style, but aldo provided complications in applying a pattern. The individual responsible for the transfer printed pattern certainly rose to the occasion.

This pot was made in India expressly for import to England by the Burgess & Leigh Co. They registered the design in 1896 as a teapot, but its original shape was an exact copy of the form and surface decoration of a multi-color printed biscuit tin registered by Huntley & Palmer.

A lawsuit was unavoidable.

The result--Burgess & Leigh adapted their teapot to this monochrome version. The scene is still similar to that of the biscuit tin--an Indian scene, with an elephant, British and Indian people and hunting dogs. The design was quite popular as Britain approached Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and images of the Indian part of the Empire were very fashionable.