Teasmade
Encyclopedia
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
automatically. It was once common in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and some of its former colonies. Teasmades generally include an analogue alarm clock and are designed to be used at the bedside, to ensure tea is ready first thing in the morning. Although crude versions existed in Victorian times, they only became practical with the availability of electric versions in the 1930s. They reached their peak in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s but have since declined to the extent that, in the few places they are sold new, they are a retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
novelty item.
The name teasmade is an example of a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
, introduced by Goblin but now commonly used to refer to any automatic teamaking appliance. It is now a registered trademark belonging to Swan.
History
On 17 December 1891, Samuel Rowbottom, of 82 Abbey Road, Derby, applied for a patent for his Automatic Tea Making Apparatus, the patent being granted in 1892. It used a clockwork alarm clock, a gas ring and pilot light. There is a photograph in existence of Samuel displaying his Automatic Tea Maker on an exhibition stand. Although there is no evidence that he commercially produced his tea maker, the concept he invented of using the steam from boiling water to force the water out through a tube into the teapot is still in use today.On 7 April 1902 a patent for a teasmade was registered by gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
Frank Clarke of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He called it "An Apparatus Whereby a Cup of Tea or Coffee is Automatically Made" and it was later marketed as "A Clock That Makes Tea!". However, his original machine and all rights to it were purchased from Albert E Richardson, a clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
from Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
.
On May 2nd 1932 George Absolom submitted an application for a patent on his invention, an electric automatic tea maker. The Patent (number 400672) was passed on November 2nd 1933. This invention was manufactured and marketed as the Teesmade.
The word 'teesmade' was certainly initiated by George Absolom and predates the use of the word 'teasmade' by about four years. George Absolom applied for a Registered Design using the name Teesmade, but this was not accepted by the Patent Office on the grounds that the unit was not made on the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
and that this might confuse the public. Geographic trademarks were invariably refused at this time, and indeed the Patent Office passed legislation to forbid them in 1938. This legislation has since been relaxed.
Although the name could not be formally protected, from 1932 onwards George Absolom continued to trade as Teesmade Co. Goblin were in no position to object, as the name had the indisputable advantage of prior use.
A similar electric teamaker was patented by William Hermann Brenner Thornton in association with Goblin in 1932, shortly after Absolom's patent. Goblin's next model, also invented by William Hermann Brenner Thornton, was patented in 1934 and was manufactured from 1936. This was the first teamaker sold under the name Teasmade. A patent sketch of 1934 shows the essential features. A kettle with a tube leading into a teapot was heated by an electric element switched by an alarm clock. The kettle sat upon a spring-loaded pad with a switch, so that when steam pressure pushed the boiling water into the pot, the pad was allowed to rise and cut the power to the element.
Production
An example of a teasmade is on display at the Science Museum in London.Goblin ‘Teasmade’, Model D25B 1966
The Label says –
The ‘Teasmade’, combines an alarm clock and electric kettle which automatically boils water and adds it to a teapot at a specified time. The ‘Teasmade’, made in Leatherhead, has been called 'a fascinating bit of English eccentricity.'
The old Swan Teasmade DC1 made by RBC electronics is no longer in production and the Micromark Tea Express has ceased being sold in the UK, as the parent company of Micromark, BDC, went into administration in November 2008.
The new 21st century Teasmade, STM100, has been manufactured in China by Swan Products since October 2009, and is being sold in many UK retailers including John Lewis
John Lewis
John Lewis may refer to:* John Lewis Partnership, a United Kingdom worker co-operative retailer** John Lewis , a department store chain in the United Kingdom-Politics:...
and Tesco Direct.