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Teas2Dine4.com

Teapot Collectors Resources:
Related: See these pages
Tealiteful Gifts
and
General Resources for Collectors of Collectibles
*A page on SippingTea.com*

TEAPOT 2003
4th ANNUAL TEAPOT-FEST
Thur/Fri/Sat/Sun - 25/26/27/28 September
GEORGE HOTEL, SWAN SQUARE, BURSLEM, STOKE-ON-TRENT
STAFFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND

World's Biggest Teapot Auction, Teapot Fair,
Teapot Talks, Teapot Quiz, Teapot Modelling,
All Things Teapot! - Free Admission
www.totallyteapots.com/

TEAPOTS

Tea, although regarded now as the British National Drink, is, when seen in historical perspective, of comparatively recent introduction, coming from the mysterious East via Holland and Portugal. In fact the first mention of the drink being available in England occurs in the Gazette of 2-9 September 1658, the issue coincidentally reporting the death of Oliver Cromwell. 

Coffee preceded tea by only a few years, being first recorded for sale in Oxford in 1650, reaching England from the Islamic world probably via Spain. 

Both drinks quickly gained popularity amongst the fashionable and elegant vessels were required for service at the table of society hostesses and in the new city institutions ---the Coffee Houses.

The Chinese when making tea did not utilize a pot, the leaves being infused directly in the cups, which were small handleless bowls of the form used in the West up to the early 19th century and now only found in Chinese restaurants. 

The tea pot therefore was a western innovation. Its origins are unknown, one possible source being the small Chinese vessel used for the service of wine. Another possible source of the tea pot is the Islamic vessel used for the service of coffee. This brings us to the question----what is the difference between a tea and a coffee pot? Traditionally a coffee pot is a tall vessel whilst the tea pot is globular but there is no practical reason for this distinction. 

The earliest recorded English silver tea pot in fact resembles the traditional coffee pot. However, another example some fifteen years later shows the beginning of the traditional form. Both are at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and are almost unique pieces. 

For those who did not favour a silver pot, imported Chinese red stoneware vessels from the province of Yi Hsing were available. The earliest shape was probably globular with a short straight spout, later shapes include octagonal and melon shape as well as fantasies resembling bunches of bamboo shoots and various mythological beasts. A later shape often found is the double tea pot with two chambers, one to hold the tea leaves. The European potters were quick to copy these wares, the most successful being the Dutch. In England these were produced notably by the Eler Brothers. 

The most important tea wares were, however, of imported Chinese porcelain. By the beginning of the 18th century, the East India Companies (Dutch and English) were developing the trade of importing china ware together wit the teas, spices, cloth, etc. that formed the bulk of the trade. In fact the china formed almost an incidental part of the cargo, often being used as ballast or flooring in the hold of ships. Early 18th century Chinese porcelain tea pots followed the octagonal plan popular amongst the silversmiths of the first two decades. 

To be able to produce comparable wares was the dream of every European potter and the story of their success is well known. However, during the first half of the 18th century the English and many continental makers had to make do with substitutes. The tin-glazed earthenwares produced in Holland as Delft proved at least a partial visual substitute, lacking however, the translucency, fineness of potting and important for teawares, the strength, especially when subjected to boiling water. 

English potters, first a Lambeth and then Liverpool and Bristol, followed suit but tea and coffee pots are rarities. A much more satisfactory earthenware was developed in England by Thomas Astbury and other Staffordshire potters during the early 18th century. This was salt-glazed stoneware, capable of producing white, thinly potted and sharply modeled pots, strong and well suited to the rigours of use as teawares. 

The early salt-glazed teapots, as well as following the standard Chinese porcelain shapes are found in a variety of curious forms. Pots in the shape of camels, monkeys and squirrels occur, as does a tea pot in the form of a Georgian house, said to be the Big House, Burslem, residence of John and Thomas Wedgwood. Salt-glazed tea wares, although often undecorated, were also painted in bright enamel colors, sometimes with commemorative subjects.

From "Teapots & Coffee Pots" by Philip Miller, published in UK in 1979 by Midas Books, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 0NX.

Visit another website with the: History of Teapots
www.teapots.net/

Links to more information about Tea Pots, Exhibitions & Collecting

Order from Barnes & Noble
The 2004 Collectible Teapot and Tea Wall Calendar

From the Publisher:
No ritual matches the restorative powers of afternoon tea, a time to share, sip,
and nibble a diversity of dainty and delicious treats. 
Celebrating the civilized ritual for the ninth year, The Collectible Teapot & Tea calendar
features a dozen rare and lovely teapots photographed in sumptuous settings of flowers and teatime treats. Exquisite 18th-century Worcester, a cheery T.G. Green polka-dot pot, 
and Colonial-era silver culled from museums and private collections, 
each pot comes with an intriguing story to match its delightful design and decoration. 
With history and lore by food writer and tea connoisseur Joni Miller 
and transporting photographs by Martin Brigdale. 

Stash Tea : History and design of teapots

Ferrin Gallery Artists
Articles on Teapot Collecting

A History of Teapots  | The Need for Teapots
http://www.teapots.net/

TEAPOTS ON TOUR! TIME FOR TEA
Travelling Exhibition 2003-4 (United Kingdom)
http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/leisure/museums/TFT_Tour_Dates.htm

21st Anniversary Teapot Exhibition June-July 2000
thumbnail pics of some wonderful teapots
View the work of Teapot Artists
http://www.epinch.com/tp21/thumbnails.htm

Ferrin Gallery Articles on Teapot Collecting
http://www.ferringallery.com/teapotcollecting/

Collectors Warming up to Teapots
http://www.americanstyle.com/Collectors_Corner/Collectors_TEAPOTS

The Teapot - A Ceramic Cultural Item
http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/022501.htm 

Teapot Collecting / Novelty Teapots
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/magazine/issue12/iss12p3.html

History of the Novelty Teapot
http://www.totallyteapots.com/historytt.html

Collecting Novelty Teapots   - [About.com page]     
by guest author Vince McDonald

Novelty Teapot Exhibition - Australia
through August 2003
http://www.morpethgallery.com/Teapots/Teapots1.htm

P!NCH 21st Anniversary Teapot exhibition
http://www.epinch.com/tp21/thumbnails.htm

Visit: The Art of Tea and read information about a planned TV documentary.
www.theartoftea.com
Features some beautiful pictures of tea pots of every design!

Teapots, Teapot Collecting,
and Other Things About Tea 
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/2704/teapots.html

Teapot Collector report in Halls China Online Newsletter (c1998)
http://www.inter-services.com/HallChina/spring98.html

Teapots: Reviews by Consumers
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/product/35677.html

Cardew Designs - David Battie Teapot Columns
www.cardewdesign.com/Pages/teapotarticles.html
**Note** these are all archived pages from the Wayback Machine archive of the internet.**

Totally Teapots Collectors Club
Aims:
To promote novelty teapot collecting
Activities:
Newsletters, swap meets, special deals for members
Contact:
Vince McDonald
Euxton,
Chorley,
Lancs PR7 6EY
Tel: 01257 450366
Fax: 01257 450366
Email: vince@teapot-club.co.uk
Web: www.totallyteapots.com

Visit Teapot World
Excerpt quoted from site:
A thousand and one pots!
Britain's foremost teapot museum. Housed in a castle tower in North Wales,
is a private collection, that grew out of a passion of one dedicated collector that began in the 1960's.

Pity King Edward I in 1292. He completed construction of his most ambitious Welsh castle in the northern settlement of Conwy, but did not (nor would he ever) know the singular pleasure of a cuppa.
Tea was not introduced to the United Kingdom until the middle of the 17th century. 
Teapot production began in the early 18th century
Read more at:
http://www.teapotworld.co.uk/

Totally Teapots: Collecting, Social Worlds and a Sociology of ... 
PDF File - You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open
www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/research/ejrot/cmsconference/2001/ Abstracts/Cheetham_abstract.pdf

Teapot Treasures
Teapot Treasures was developed out of my personal passion
for teapot collecting and a true appreciation for the art and craft
of "handmade".
http://www.teapottreasures.com/aboutus1.html

Read this article from a Collector in Scotland
All about Tea ~ Teatime Hobby
www.electricscotland.com/lifestyle/tea_hobby.htm

And visit other collectors interesting sites:
Paul Clark's Pot-Tea Pots !
http://www.teapotpaul.freeserve.co.uk/

Thrums End Teapot Collection
http://www.thrumsend.com/collect.html

Visit the Teapot collectibles links of Teapot designer and maker (England)
Andy Titcomb
Links
http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.titcomb1/teapot_links/teapot_links.html

Teapotweb Links
http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/leisure/museums/Teapotweb%20links.htm

Read the poem online
The Cheerfulness of Teapots
http://www.lifesoup.net/html/atoz/teapots.html

To see some pictures of My Own Teapot Collection
Click on over to mypots.html page.
also closeup pictures of some of my favorites.

Have you got a Collection of "Tea" things?
Have you a Collection of ANYTHING?
If you'd like to share pictures of your collectibles,
please visit a New site, for Collectors
What A Collection!
You can have a FREE web page to post your pictures,
and the owners of the site will even post them for you.
Just mail them your photos.
Find out more at:

Cardew Collectors Club
http://www.cardewdesign.com/Pages/New1.27.html

Hall China Collectors
http://www.inter-services.com/HallChina/

Totally Teapots - the novelty teapot collectors club
http://www.totallyteapots.com/home.html

Related: Don't forget about my resource page for Collectors of Collectibles,
Link on over to: 4collectibles.html
and visit:
Listing of Collector Clubs
http://www.thecollectorhub.com/Collector_Clubs/
 

Never buy anything that you cannot really afford, or don't have a place for, 
Never puchase something, because you think it may go up in value someday!
Buy items you Love, and that will add joy to your life.

CHINTZ Collectors resources

Chintz History
http://chintznet.com/

Chintz Collecting - article
http://www.go-star.com/antiquing/chintz.htm

Collecting Chintz China
http://www.countrycollector.com/chinachintz.html
Quoted from page:
Chintz Ceramics by Jo Anne Welsh, Schiffer Publishing, 1996, 160 pages, hardback.This delightful, informative resource includes over 400 color photos of chintz pieces (including the ones featured in this article linked above) made by the leading English chintz manufacturers. More than 100 patterns are discussed and shown. 

To order an copy, send a check for $44.95 ($39.95 plus $5 postage) to The Chintz Connection, PO Box 222, Riverdale, MD 20738. 

Jo Anne Welsh has also formed The Chintz Connection, a resource for helping collectors find and match chintz pieces. There is a quarterly newsletter plus an annual convention. For a subscription to the newsletter, send $25 to the address above. 

Chintz China
http://www.chintzchina.com/

Replacements, Ltd.
Specialty Pieces - Chintz Patterns
To place an order, please call us at 1-800-REPLACE
(1-800-737-5223) seven days a week, 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight ET
http://www.replacements.com/specialty/chintztoc.htm?s1=6g&10&

Purchase Quality  Chintz products/teaware
by: Arthur Wood, established in 1884. Quality Teapots Made in Staffordshire, England
http://www.warmreflectionsgifts.homestead.com/CHINTZ.html

Chintz made in Holland
http://www.xs4all.nl/~andrewm/

Books to Consider - for purchase - Build your own Reference Library

Other Tea Collectibles:

WADE Collectibles - Links to various collector and information websites
http://www.wadewhimsies.com/wadelink/links1.html

More Tea Vicar - Wade miniatures information
http://www.moreteavicar.co.uk/db_wade-miniatures.htm

TeaCard.com - Red Rose history
http://www.teacard.com/rrhist.html

Read on HGTV.com
Tea Trappings
Enjoy history and beauty of teatime objects 
 

Cup & Saucer Collector Books 

Miscellaneous Sites for Collectors 


Buying Teapots, & other Tea Accessories
You'll find these sites sell pots for everyone, Tea for one, Miniatures
for children and large 6-8 cup pots for a group.
I just added a **2nd page** with more Tea-riffic ideas for gifts.

Take a Link Online - Sites worth a click:

Links to sites for purchasing tea pots, these are some of my favorite sites.

A Pocket full of  Posies : wonderful assortment, Chintz, Mary Englebreit, & More

Dolly's NovelTea Teapot Collectibles
You'll find bargains for tea-riffic collectibles at Dolly's

Someplace in Time - sells a nice selection of Tea Ware
Chintz to Novelty pots.

Andy Titcomb, studied under Paul Cardew ~ now has his own studio
and creates tea-liteful pots for you and me!

The Teapottery - Home of the Eccentric Teapot

Tea Treasures.com

Teapots Galore
and Related sites: 1 Amazing Gift.com | The Basketeer.com

Coffee, Tea & Thee - tea-riffic teawares as well as info on Tea & Entertaining

Tea Pots etc. - offers Yixing teapots

Tea & Teapots fine Chinese teas, exquisite teapots, tea utensils, seasoned wares and books about tea culture.

English Teapots

Rather Jolly Tea : Wholesale Teas, English China, Tea Cozies, Accessories, British Foods & Other British Tea Brands* 
Rather Jolly® Tea are suppliers of wholesale teas, British foods, English China, tea cozies, tea accessories and *PG-Tips, Typhoo, DJ Miles, St.James, Berry Brother & Rudd tea. Our mission is to provide the finest quality teas & accessories for American consumers.

Bigelow Tea - Accessories (tea cup and tea pot  flower motif of the month avialable)

Davenport House ~Tea Sets, Three tier stands, plates, tea caddies,  jam servers, 
tea pot shape frames & much more
Lovely Items for your Tea Dining Settings  Tea Accessories

Paul Cardew Teapots

Afternoon Tea & Fine Art

Teapots4Sale.com

Hall Teapots

Tony Carter Collectible Teapots

Fitz and Floyd teapots

Pamela's Fitz & Floyd Teapots for sale

Cardew Collectors & Disney
http://www.britishfaire.com/cardew/teapots_cardew_collectibles.htm

Teapots direct
http://www.teapotsdirect.co.uk/

Online Directory of Sites that sell Teapots for Collectors
http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Collecting/Food_and_Drink_Related/Kitchenware/Teapots/

A Bit of Britain - British Novelties including Teapot collectibles
http://www.abitofbritain.com/index.html

Tea Canisters / Caddies
The Following Excerpt quoted from this site:
www.witneyantiques.com/solid.items/caddies.htm

The first account of the sale of tea in England was in the year 1657. In the following decade tea became available in London coffee houses and was recommended for it's health giving effects. The claims for the beneficial effects of tea were fantastic especially since the Great Plague of 1665. 

Tea was an expensive commodity. In 1690 tea was sold for £1 per lb and upwards. Compare this with annual salaries: a military officer £60, a clergyman £50, a farmer £40, a common soldier £14 and a laborer £6. Most people resided in the latter category. 

Never the less by 1700 drinking tea had become fashionable. And in some of the wealthier houses it was part of the daily routine, hence the expression, 'tea time.' The lower classes would frequent pleasure gardens to partake in the luxurious past time. And throughout the eighteenth century tea drinking became progressively less expensive and more popular. 

Naturally of course craftsmen soon began to give serious attention to the designing and making containers, utensils and furniture to cater for this new activity. Helping to propel tea drinking into a ceremonial event. The word 'caddy' was not infact used in England until the last quarter of the 18th century, its origin being a corruption of the Malay word 'kati,' a weight equal to one and one fifth pounds avoirdupois. 

Articles to read:

Tea Canister / Caddies- Shopping Sites The Elmwood Inn:
English Tea Caddies
Elmwood Inn has one of the largest selections of fine English
tea caddies in the region.
Most are 150 to 200 years old. Call 1-800-765-2139 for details or visit our gift shop.
http://elmwoodinn.com/store.html

Search the net on places like Ebay or your favorite Antique Sites
for Antique Tea Collectibles.
Please Remember!! to do your homework/research first
Know what you are looking at on the screen, ask questions, details, and ask
for as much "history" that the seller has on the item, and how the seller
is verifying that the item is as it is advertised, or the age, or maker/manufacturer/artist, etc.
Also check out the sellers history as well, ask for referrals to other buyers.
Purchase some of the books I suggest on this page, or go to your public library
and research before you "purchase" high ticket collectibles.
Buy what you love, not what you hope will appreciate in value
and don't "over pay" for something that may turn out to be an expensive FAKE!
But at least You'll Love it! 

Seeds of Knowledge - Books and Collector tips
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/teashop.html

Tea Caddy Spoons Information

But wait there's More...

Teapot Collecting
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/teapots/

Teapot sites
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/links/China_and_Pottery/Teapots/
http://www.eteapot.com/sadchinen.html

English Tea pots & gifts
http://www.english-teapots.com/noflash.htm

Information about Sadler Teapots
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/museums/pmag/ceramics/infosheets/cerissadler.htm
Buy Sadler Teapots
http://teapots4sale.com/sadler.htm

http://www.sadlerteapots.com/

Having an Afternoon Tea for your Golf League Group?
Here is a set - that should suit you to a "tee"
Purchase at http://www.golfanimalheadcovers.com/golmot3piect.html

Related: **Another suggestion for children is to have an Afternoon Tea Party with a round of Miniature Golf
at the local course and then set up with the Tea Party fixings, at an outdoor park.

to top of page

Cute gift idea for your favorite young lady
Madame Alexander doll "I'm a Little Teapot"
available from Samanthasdolls.com

Still...More of my favorite online shopping sites for All Things Tea