Friday, February 27, 2009

"Tea an Everyday Indulgence"


"Tea is one of the most social and popular events of the day and the taste and refinement of the hostess are readily recognized in the manner in which it is served. Everything should be as dainty and attractive as possible. The tea itself should be of the best that can be afforded and must be well made..."

From the clearance table at Anthropologie comes this 2007 book from Copper Beech Publishing in Great Britain, "Tea an Everyday Indulgence." Although it doesn't exactly say so, I am assuming this book is a compilation of the tea and etiquette advice from vintage publications. A discussion of which foods may be eaten with one's gloves on, for instance, seems quite quaint today, but it's still fun to read. And it's been a while since I've dressed like the lady in this illustration at dinnertime!

A quick and easy read, this small book included quite a few tidbits I've never heard before. On teaspoons: "Up to the time of Waterloo, teaspoons were adjusted chiefly to the calibre of female mouths." Another fun fact: "The scalloped shell which appears on so many tea spoons originates from the time oriental merchants placed a real scallop shell in the tea chests so customers could inspect it before making their decision to buy." There are also a few simple recipes in the book, but the social customs and courtesies are what I most enjoyed reading.

7 comments:

  1. This is a tea book I have not seen before. I will have to put it on my list! Your shopping is bad for me. *LOL*

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  2. This sounds like an interesting little book. I can never pass up a look through a clearance rack or table and it does pay off, doesn't it?

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  3. Hello -

    Would love to get about 6 copies of the Anthropolgie book too for myself and friends! Was your book expensive?

    THANKS! LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!!!

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  4. Hi Debbie, and thank you so much for the kind comment about this blog! You know, my book was marked down from $24 to $14.95, which I thought was a great deal, BUT ... I just looked on Amazon and you can buy it brand new for $13.74. Yikes!

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  5. Thanks for the info, Angela!

    Every year in October I have an English Tea for all my best girlfriends. We get all dressed up, wear outrageous hats, & just have a GRAND TIME! I try to buy gifts "for the girls" throughout the year (when I can find them on sale) with a theme of tea, scones, hats, teacups, etc. Since I'm either buying 4, 6, or 8 of everything (depending on how big the Tea will be each year), sometimes it can get expensive! (I may have to hit Michael's first this morning and look for the Mary E journals that you wrote about in your previous blog!) Since you're the Tea Queen, I'd love to send you a picture from several of my previous Teas! :-D

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  6. OOOOOh, I love it! I agree with Linda - your shopping is bad for me. I'm going to their website now! I do love Anthropologie.

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  7. Oh this is a lovely book! I bet you have quite the library stocked with all these goodies? Where do you keep all of these treasures you find? ha ha

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