Master Tip

Posted on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 11:54 pm

Master Tip

Cubist approach; Maritime Tales by vennasa lee

ENTREPRENEUR Robert Crawford Johnson solved the problem of howto avoid spilling your tea while on board ship - he invented a square teapot that would not tip over.
For years designers had wracked their brains to create the perfect teapot for sea travel. Yixing boccaroteapots have been well-known for centuries. The clay in Yixing appears dark red after baking because of its iron content and various other chemical elements. With a perfect combination of artistic skills, the shaping, poems, calligraphy, paintings and seals, Yixing boccaro teapots embody strong character of oriental culture.

What was neededwas one that didn't drip the golden nectarwhen poured,would not overturn in rough weather and could be easily storedwithout chipping the spout.
Rather than change the whole design, other designers concentrated on one of these defects in the quest for the perfect pot.By creating a square teapotwith the spout neatly tucked away in a corner, Johnson solved all the problems at once.
He registered the Cubeteapot as itwas called, in 1917. Itwas not put into production until 1920 - by thewell-known potters, ArthurWood of Stoke-on-Trent.
However, some other companies decided to muscle in on Johnson's brainchild by producing similar potswhichwere not under licence.
Johnson decided to hit back by forming Cube Teapots Ltd in 1925 under an 'AcceptNo Imitations' marketing banner. Sales stunts included a "living windowdisplay" featuring a lady pouring the perfect cups of tea from a Cube Teapot.
Square teapots were adopted bymajor shipping companies such as Cunard. There are several featured in displays atMerseyside MaritimeMuseum. Cube teapots were used on the QueenMary and earlier Cunard ships.
Plant's Bird of Paradise patternwas used from the 1920s. Itwas mixed freely with the Pink Rose pattern on ships such as theAquitania, Mauretania and Ausonia II.
The designswere still in use on theQueen Elizabeth 2 as late as 1968 although the pattern and manufacturers changed over the years.
TheQueenMarywas the first British liner to embrace theArtDeco style embodied in ivory-coloured tableware with touches of golden brown, grey and black.
Jewish passengerswere catered forwith a kosher kitchen and separate crockery.Akosher coffee cup and saucer are inscribed "meat" in English andHebrew.
There are items used on theGreat Eastern displayed on a saloon table from Brunel's iconic ship.
There is a huge meat dish or platter from the 1850s alongwith an 1860s dessert plate.
In the Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery can be seen a first class china coffee cup and saucer about 1903 - 7. This was the same design as used on Titanic andwas supplied by Stoniers - the famous Liverpool suppliers of crockery to the great liners.

Offers handmade yixing teapots and accessories from Yixing, China.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Cubist-approach---Maritime-Tales/550657