Welcome to our tea service exhibition!
Welcome to our gallery!
Please scroll down to find portals that will take you directly to the gallery that interests you most!
Most of our photographs are interactive, so tap, or click on the photo, or use the highlighted ‘box’ to help navigate your tour!
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tureen #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1886
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1877
Meriden B. Company Tea Set #1886
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Meriden B. Company #1921 c.1886
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Wilcox kettle on stand
Meriden Silver Plate - #2402 c.1920
Wilcox kettle on stand
Meriden Britannia #2947
Meriden Britannia #2947
Meriden Britannia #2947
Kettle-on-stand (or 'swing pot')
Meriden Britannia
C. 1886-87
Just click on the image to enjoy the exhibit
or
click on this link:
Meriden Britannia #1947
Meriden Britannia #2947
Meriden Britannia #2947
The Sugar, Creamer, and Open Pot
Meriden Britannia
C. 1886-87
Just click on the image to enjoy the exhibit
or
click on this link:
Meriden Britannia
Meriden Britannia #2947
Meriden Britannia
The Tray, and an overview of
the entire suite
C.1886-87
Just click on the image to enjoy the exhibit
or
click on this link:
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
Meriden #1927 (Circa 1886)
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
Meriden Silver Plate Co. #1418
A Tufts Tea Service – Model #1915
Meriden Silver Plate Co. #1418
A Rogers Smith 4 piece service #1987
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Wm Rogers & Son #965
Meriden Britannia Tea Service #1899 at The American Silver Museum
Wm Rogers & Son #965
Simpson Hall Miller Chocolate Set
Meriden Silverplate Co. #55 (c.1906)
Simpson Hall Miller Chocolate Set
Meriden B. Co. #1882 (C.1873)
Meriden Silverplate Co. #55 (c.1906)
Simpson Hall Miller Chocolate Set
Meriden Silverplate Co. #55 (c.1906)
Meriden Silverplate Co. #55 (c.1906)
Meriden Silverplate Co. #55 (c.1906)
Meriden Tea & Coffee Service #1971 (c.1886)
Meriden Tea Set Model #1940
Meriden B. #1940
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
The model 1940 and 1938 utilized the same body, finial, handle, and borders.
The difference was in the chasing and the option to add legs to the pieces.
Included in this 'compare/contrast' exhibition, are the original catalogue drawings!
This video compares & contrasts
the 1938 and the 1940
Meriden B. Co. Model #1938
From the 1886 Meriden B. Catalogue
Meriden B. Co. Model #1938
A Repousse Samovar Service
Model #1905 (with feet)
A Repousse Samovar Service (Circa 1887)
Model #1905-1/2 (with base)
Coffee Pot Six half pints $12.25 in 1887, $330.22 in 2019
Tea Pot Five half pints $11.75 in 1887, $316.75 in 2019
Waste bowl (no feet) $7.50 in 1887, $202.18 in 2019
Model #1905-1/2 (with base)
A Repousse Samovar Service (Circa 1887)
Model #1905-1/2 (with base)
Creamer with base (no feet) $8.50 in 1887,
$229.13 in 2019
The Samovar - listed at $34.00 in the 1887 catalog
would be equivalent to $916.54 in 2019,
A Repousse Samovar Service (Circa 1887)
A Repousse Samovar Service (Circa 1887)
A Repousse Samovar Service (Circa 1887)
If purchased as a set, the Meriden Company would have asked $81.50 in 1887.
$2197.00 in 2019 dollars.
Reed & Barton Model #2365 - circa 1869
Wilcox Silverplate Tea Service #136
Meriden Britannia, Tea Services - Model # 1938 & #1940
Meriden Britannia, Quadruple plate Tea Services
In this video we compare and contrast the common elements and very-different-from-one-another chasings on the models #1938 & #1940!
Meriden Britannia, Quadruple plate Tea Service Model #1940
Meriden Britannia, Tea Service Model #1940 (Circa 1886 -87)
This wonderful tea set can be found in the 1886-87 catalogue (p. 318) of silver plate wares produced by Meriden Britannia. I There were two ‘chasing’ options being offered – both exquisitely detailed and complex designs.
The options other than chasing were the 'legs/feet' that were added to raise the teapots, sugar bowls up and away from the table or tray!
This tea service listed the Coffee pots at $14.00, Tea pot (two sizes) $11.75/$10.75, Cream $8.75, Covered sugar $8.75. The four piece set that we present (monogramed ‘M M’) would have cost ‘M M’ $45.25 in 1876. $1233.29 in 2019 dollars. (http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1887?amount=45.75)
The 1886-87 catalogue was reproduced in its entirety in 1982 by Dover Press. Although long out of print, copies can usually be found on Ebay. On occasion the original catalogues surface and they too can be found at some of the more popular online auction sites.
We offer two ways to enjoy this exhibition of tea sets from
the Meriden Britannia catalogue of 1886:
1. Click on the photograph (above) or the link below
to go directly to a self-guided gallery of photos.
Those photos can be clicked on to enjoy them more fully!
2. We’ve created video slideshows for you to enjoy!
They’re archived on YouTube and these links will take you to the videos included in this exhibition:
The 1940 by itself: https://youtu.be/CinnbvIv34E
or
The 1938 by itself: https://youtu.be/kTTZbYndYdc
or
The 1938 & 1940 compared (with catalogue)
Meriden Britannia #1899 (C 1867) The American Silver Museum
Meriden Britannia #1899 at The American Silver Museum
The 1867 Meriden Britannia catalogue boasts incredible illustrations of the company’s wares! In a reprinted version of the catalogue, we find tea sets that boast model numbers in the range engraved on this featured set. Unfortunately, the reprinted version did not include the entire catalogue, and we assume that this service is featured in the original (complete) catalogue.
Many silver manufacturers offered huge, fully illustrated catalogues. The illustrations are works of art in themselves, and are highly coveted amongst collectors.
Reprinted versions of the catalogues do appear in online auctions. In 1982 Dover Press printed the complete 1886 -1887 Meriden Britannia catalogue.
A master work from Meriden Britannia, Meriden CT
In the ‘Appendix to Catalogue’ that we own in its original form, we find tea services with model numbers of #1886 and such. It is our belief that the ‘Appendix’ is appending the catalogues printed in 1877. Because the numbering system is so close to the date (but having no real relationship to one another) it is easy to confuse model numbers from the 1870s (#1800) with model numbers from the 1880s (#1900).
The American Silver Museum
The other clue to the actual date of manufacture is the ornamentation being offered. In particular: the ‘flying buttress’ legs that the #1899 service boasts are in keeping with the styles of that year. In the (year) 1885 catalogues we see that images of the North Wind, or floral motifs were more often being offered to the clients.
Tea Services & Coffee Sets At The American Silver Museum
Welcome to our tea service gallery At The American Silver Museum
This gallery will be devoted to multi-piece tea and coffee services.
Many complete tea services can still be acquired, however, it is much more fun to ‘hunt’ down the missing sugar bowl or creamer to complete a pattern that one has begun collecting.
To determine what pieces may be missing from our collections, we utilized the (still existing) Meriden Britannia catalogues. These beautiful catalogues are a collectible item unto themselves. They boast detailed drawings of the items being offered. Also, they show the price that the item was being sold for at that time.
It was our goal to reunite all of the items featured on a catalogue page, and we are happy to report that we have been successful in that endeavor many times!
A complete tea service would boast the following items:
Samovar
Coffee pot
Tea pot
Covered sugar bowl or uncovered sugar bowl
Waste pot (sometimes referred to as a slop pot)
Spoon holder
Syrup cup (a covered creamer)
Uncovered creamer
Butter dishes
Tray…
Many times coordinating or matching items could be purchased to complete the table presentation:
Condiment sets, pickle holders, toothpick holders, and Call Bells (so that one could summon the servants with the press of a button on a small covered bell) were offered for sale.
Customers could customize their orders! The catalogues show us that many items could be purchased with ‘legs’ that lifted the items above the tablecloth. Or, one could purchase them with no ‘legs’ presumably because the client purchased the tray to protect the tablecloth from spillage or other soiling.
We used the (circa 1870) Meriden Britannia salesmen catalogues to help us seek out missing pieces to services that we began collecting.
In the 1960s, there was an apparent surge in interest in these items and the Meriden Catalogues along with a small Webster Wilcox catalogue were reproduced. The reproductions were smaller in size but faithfully reproduced the original catalogues. The Meriden catalogues were originally bound in hardcover and the reproductions are in paperback. Those catalogues are now out of print, but can occasionally be found in online auctions.
A complete coffee service would comprise of many different pieces.
Navigating this gallery… At The American Silver Museum
As with our other galleries and exhibitions - we will introduce each gallery with a ‘portal’ located just below this text.
Click on the bar below to be taken to those ‘portals’.
You can also scroll down to find the gallery that most interests you!
We begin each gallery with an embedded video/slideshow that we feel gives you the best museum experience. Below the video you will find a gallery of ‘still’ photos. You can glance at the entire gallery and then select a photo that most interests you. That photo will ‘pop-up’ and you can begin a self-guided tour through that photo-library!
If you’re feeling lost, just click the ‘back’ button at the top of your device, or scroll up or down to the top or bottom of the page to return to a location you’re familiar with!