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weemsbotts · 4 years ago

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Unlocking the Secrets of our Floral Teacups

By Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

While “Save-the-Dishes” sounds like a fantastic social media hashtag, HDVI Administrative Director Kimberly Ward launched this campaign in 2002 to “create the proper atmosphere for interpretation of the period of occupation”. While the dishes were only the first wave of a larger Victorian Parlor drive (click here to read about our wall covering!), our bone china absolutely delights our visitors today as people recognize and recall their memories enjoying the Old Country Roses Style.

Debuting in 1962, it featured “gorgeous clusters of red, pink, and yellow roses, flamboyant edging and 22 carat gold embellishments”. Harold Holdcroft drew upon different inspirations from the 1921 King’s Ransom pattern to the beauty of a quintessential English country garden in the “haze of summertime.” While this iconic style excited people in the 1960s, the pottery had enticed customers from the late 1890s.Thomas C. Wild purchased Albert Works pottery in 1896 in Stoke-on-Trent named to pay homage to the birth of Prince Albert the previous year. After producing commemorative pieces for Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee, Albert Crown China earned the Royal Warrant in 1904. By 1910, the Company had expanded to New Zealand and would eventually produce in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. with their innovative gas and electric fired kilns. In 1917, Thomas Wild’s sons joined the company changing the name to Thomas Wild & Sons and the Royal Albert Incorporated as a limited company in 1933. Pearson Group acquired the pottery in the 1960s adding it to the company’s other Allied English Potters. By 1970, the company officially disassociated itself with T.C. Wild & Sons renaming it to Royal Albert Ltd. The marks on the china also changed from simple printed or impressed crown marks with the initials “T.C.W.” to concentric circle to a crown interlocking.

While our pattern is English, the fashion and etiquette of elaborate tea services went beyond any one border and certainly predates the 1960s! Colonial Americans enjoyed imported beverages like tea and highly valued serving these drinks in fine silver and ceramic vessels. By the start of the 18th century, American silversmiths produced teapots – at first globular and then eventually drum and oval shaped. Sugar bowls, tea pots, hot water urns, and canisters for dried tea leaves all populated the tables of the wealthy in attempt to impress their visitors. Meanwhile, the British searched for an alternative to importing porcelain from China and Thomas Frye incorporated an interesting ingredient to his Bow Porcelain Factory productions in 1748 – bone. His factory was close to slaughterhouses and the introduction of bone ash produced sturdier teaware. This idea caught on and by 1780, Joseph Spode of Stoke-on-Trent, introduced “Stoke China” until his son renamed it to “bone china” after his death. Adding bone ash also creates a creamier and softer color and can be admired when held up into the light as it is more translucent than fine china, which contains no bone.

The “Save-the-Dishes” Campaign was an overwhelming success thanks to: The Prince William County Historical Commission, The Dr. Elisha Dick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Charles Reid, Wayne Neavear, Catherine Patterson, Edward and Mary Roman, Isabelle M. Lockett, Laura A. Barlow, Barbara Shutt, visitors, volunteers, and HDVI staff. As you walk into our Victorian Parlor, take time to admire the pieces but also think of the delightful recipes you could pair with it, such as Malinda Russell’s Raspberry Tea Cake, her cakes famous for being so light: “One cup white sugar, one pint sour cream, three tablespoons melted butter, three cups flour, one and a half teaspoon soda, two do. Cream tartar, grated nutmeg, mix into a batter; pour over sheet paper into dripping-pan; bake in a quick oven; when done, cut into squares, crush the berries, and sweeten to your taste. Cover the cake with berries…” For more recipes, look for Malinda Russell’s A Domestic Cook Book published in 1866, recognized as one of the oldest cookbooks written by an African-American woman.

Note: Craving more Victorian and/or tea history? Join us this Sunday for our Victorian Tea: Throw Me a Party program! Featuring a custom tea basket packed with tea, Walker’s shortbread, and Joanne Schempp’s crafted Old Country Roses teacup magnet, you can enjoy delicious luxury and taste at home while we help you prepare for your own tea! Take a sneak peek at our tea collection not currently on display! Click here for more info & tickets – members, please call us for your special price!

(Sources: HDVI: Victorian Parlor Fund; Royal Albert China: https://www.royalalbertchina.com.au/notebook/old-country-roses/; English Tea Store: Tea Blog, Official Blog of the English Tea Store: Teaware Patterns: Royal Albert Old Country Roses by Little Yellow Teapot, https://blog.englishteastore.com/2013/11/30/teaware-patterns-royal-albert-old-country-roses/; Collectors Weekly: Royal Albert China: https://www.collectorsweekly.com/china-and-dinnerware/royal-albert; Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art: Wees, Beth Carver. Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate in Early America, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/coff/hd_coff.htm; Wedgewood: What is Bone China (and what is bone china made of?), https://www.wedgwood.com/en-us/welcome-to-wedgwood/buying-guides/a-guide-to-bone-china; Hobart Town Tea Co: History of Fine Bona China, https://httco.com.au/history-of-fine-bone-china; Smithsonian Magazine: Smart News. Eschner, Kat. These were the First Cookbooks Published by Black People in America” 10/2017; Russell, Malinda. A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Recipes for the Kitchen. Paw Paw: 1866, accessed online via the HathiTrust Digital Library)

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