& Coffee Urns plated (mine are but partially plated 

 and are extremely neat) are the genteelest things 

 of the sort used now at any House & tables inferior 

 to the first fortunes." '^ 



The tea canister (fig. 22), a storage container for the 

 dry tea leaves, was yet another piece of equipment to 

 be found on the table or tray. Ceramic canisters of 

 blue and white, and red and gold, could be purchased 

 to match other tea furnishings of the same ware, and 

 silver tea canisters often were fashioned to harmonize 

 with the silver teapots of the period. Individual can- 

 isters were produced, as well as canisters in sets of two 

 or three. A set of canisters usually was kept in the 

 box in which it came, a case known as a tea chest or 

 tea caddy, such as the "elegant assortment of Tea- 

 caddies, with one, two and three canisters" advertised 

 in 1796.^* Canister tops if dome-shaped were used to 

 measure out the tea and transfer it to the teapot. 

 Otherwise, small, short-handled spoons with broad, 

 shallow bowls known as caddy spoons and caddy 

 ladles were used. However handled, the tea could 

 have been any one of the numerous kinds available in 

 the 18th century. Although Hyson, Soughong, and 

 Congo, the names inscribed on the canister in figure 

 22, may have been favored, there were many other 

 types of tea, as the following advertisement from the 

 Boston Neivs-Letter of September 16, 1736, indicates:"^ 



To be Sold ... at the Three Sugar Loaves, and Cannister 

 . . . very choice Teas, viz: Bohea Tea from 22 s. to 28 s. per 

 Pound, Congou Tea, 34 s. Pekoe Tea, 50 s. per Pound, 

 Green Tea from 20 s. to 30 s. per Pound, fine Imperial Tea 

 from 40 s. to 60 s. per Pound. 



In the 18th century tea drinking was an established 

 social custom with a recognized etiquette and dis- 

 tinctive equipage as we know from the pictures and 

 writings of the period. At teatime men and women 

 gathered to pursue leisurely conversations and enjoy 

 the sociability of the home. 



A study of An English Family at Tea (frontispiece) 

 will summarize the etiquette and equipage of the 

 ritual — 



'3 Letter from 0[tho] Holland W'illiams to Dr. Philip 

 Thomas, April 12, 1786, Williams Paper.s, vol. 4, letter no. 320. 

 Manuscript, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Mary- 

 land. 



''^ Boston News-Letter, April 4, 1771; Penmytvania Gazette, 

 October 31, 1781; Minerva, & Mercantile Evening Advertiser [New 

 York], August 4, 1796. 



'5 Boston Mews-Letter, September 16, 1736. 



PAPER 14: TEA DRINKING IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA 



Figure 22. — The sign of "The Tea Canister 

 and Two Sugar Loaves" used by a New York 

 grocer and confectioner in the 1770's. Other 

 "tea" motifs for shop signs in the i8th century 

 included "The Teapot," used by a Philadelphia 

 goldsmith in 1757, and "The Tea Ketde and 

 Stand," which marked the shop of a Charleston 

 jeweller in 1766. 



On the floor near the talale is a caddy with the top 

 open, showing one canister of a pair. The mistress of 

 the house, seated at the tea table, is measuring out dry 

 tea leaves from the 01 her canister into its lid. Mem- 

 bers of the family stand or sit about the square tea 

 table while they observe this first step in the ceremony. 

 A maidservant stands ready with the hot water kettle 

 to pour the boiling water over the leaves once they are 

 in the teapot. In the background is the tripod kettle 

 stand with a lamp, where the kettle will be placed 

 until needed to rinse the cups or dilute the tea. 



Not seen in this detail of the painting is the entry of 

 a male servant who is carrying a tall silver pot, which 

 may have contained chocolate or cofTee. These two 

 other social beverages of the 18th century were served 

 in cups of a deep cylindrical shape, like the three seen 

 on the end of the table. The shallow, bowl-shaped, 

 handleless teacups and the saucers are arranged in a 

 neat row along one side of the table. The teapot rests 

 on a square tile-like stand or dish that protects the 

 table from the heat. Nearby is a bowl to receive tea 

 dregs, a pot for cream or milk, and a sugar bowl. 



The teatime ritual has begun. 



89 



