pieces was such a spoon. ^^ No doulit, tea strainers 

 (fig. 21) were also used to insure clear tea. The tea 

 dregs might then be discarded in ihe slop howl or lel'i 

 in the strainer and the strainer rested on the bowl. 

 However, only a few contemporary .Xmerican adver- 

 tisements and inventories have been found which 

 mention tea strainers.'"' Punch strainers, though gen- 

 erally larger in size, seem to have doubled as tea 

 strainers in some households. The 1757 inventory of 



" New-York Gazette, April 3, 1727. 



81'' Maryland Gazette, January 4, 1759; Pennsylvania Chronicle, 

 January 29, 1770; Suffolk County Record Books, vol. 52, 

 p. 324, inventory of John Procter, May 13, 1757. 



Figiu'e 20. — Silver creamer made by Simeon A. 

 Bayley, of New York, about 1790. The only orna- 

 mentation is the engraving of the initials "R M" 

 below the pouring lip. {USNM 383465; Smithsonian 

 photo 45141-E.) 



Figure 2 1 . — Silver strainer made by James Butler, of 

 Boston, about 1750. The handle's pierced pattern of 

 delicate, curled vines distinguishes this otherwise 

 plain strainer. {USNM 383485; Smithsonian photo 

 448^8-J.) 



Charles Rockwell of Boston includes a punch strainer 

 which is listed not with the wine glasses and other 

 pieces associated with punch but with the tea items: 

 "1 Small Do. [china] Milk Pot 1 Tea Pot 6 Cups & 

 3 Saucers & 1 Punch Strainer." ^^ Presumal)ly, the 

 strainer had last been used for tea. 



The teapot was, of course, the very center of the 

 social custom of drinking tea; so, it usually was found 

 in the center of the tray or table. At first, only tea- 

 pots of Oriental origin imported with the cargos of 

 tea were available, for the teapot had been unknown 

 to Europeans before the introduction of the beverage. 

 However, as tea gained acceptance as a social drink 

 and the demand for equipage increased, local crafts- 

 men were stimulated to produce wares that could 

 compete with the Chinese imports. Teapots based on 

 Chinese models and often decorated with Chinese 



'■ Suffolk County Record Books, vol. 52, p. 327, inventory 

 of Revd. (Charles Brockwell, May 13, 1757. 



PAPER 14: TEA DRINKING IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA 



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