In last week’s coffee pot post, I mentioned the differences between pots for tea, coffee and chocolate. A reader requested further information on chocolate pots, so today we have a chocolate pot for him, plus a teapot for one of my coworkers – thus completing a Breakfast Beverage Trifecta. (We’ll leave orange juice, ale and other morning drinks out of the picture for now.)
First, my favorite teapot, which features the owner’s monogram (for you, Liz!). This brown-glazed pot was given as a wedding present to Julia Prout Vinson, who married George Minor Anderson on November 19th, 1901. Both bride and groom were from prominent Rockville families; their Anderson descendants donated the teapot to the Society. The relatively plain pot (maker unknown) is made elegant by the addition of silver chains and bands, which attach an elaborate silver “JPV,” the bride’s initials*, to the body. Inside, a white ceramic tea infuser fastens to the underside of the lid, avoiding the need for extra strainers or the like.
Next, a chocolate pot, circa 1890-95. Donated by Jean Krumm, its original history is unknown, but it is somewhat local; the bottom is stamped “Haviland & Co., Limoges, for Charles R. Edmonston, Washington D.C.” Mr. Edmonston can be found in the 1900 D.C. directory, listed as a merchant of china, glassware and crockery at 1205 Pennsylvania Avenue. Limoges helped popularize this vessel form in the late 19th century. Chocolate pots are tall, to accommodate a stirring stick, and are often part of their own porcelain set complete with matching cups and saucers. Using designated pots for each beverage keeps flavors and odors from mixing (and prevents the hostess from pouring the wrong drink).
There are no hard and fast rules; there are tall teapots, and short chocolate pots. But generally speaking, teapots are short and squat; coffeepots are tall with long spouts; chocolate pots are tall with shorter, pitcher-like spouts. (There are differences between the kinds of cups for each beverage, too.) For a nice tea/coffee comparison, here’s a complete tea set from the 1896 Marshall Field & Co. catalog; note that the teapot (left) is a smidgen shorter than the coffee pot, though otherwise they’re almost exactly the same (to make a matched set).
In other cases, particularly earlier in the 19th century, coffee and chocolate pots are more similar to each other than to teapots; here’s an article from Colonial Williamsburg talking about some 18th century examples. Alas, we don’t have anything that early in our collections here.
* When I first came to work here, the fact that all of Julia Anderson’s wedding gifts featured her maiden name threw me for a loop. Fortunately I was set straight by our volunteers, who kindly did not express too much dismay at my etiquette ignorance. As The Social Mirror, an 1888 advice book, informs us, “Presents sent to the bride, if marked, bear her maiden name or initials.”
May 18, 2011 at 3:57 pm
That is an awesome teapot… I LOVE it!!! I can’t believe I’ve never seen it before.
May 18, 2011 at 6:18 pm
I thought the rule was that you can’t be sure if it’s a chocolate pot, regardless of the shape, unless it has a hole in the cover for a stirrer.
Thanks so much for these regular mailings. They are always interesting and fun.
May 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm
The hole-in-the-lid is definitely a clue. The late 19th century Limoges examples, like ours, were usually sold as chocolate pots, and can by identified by the short spout (and they often came with matching, teeny little chocolate cups), but plenty of other chocolate pots have longer spouts. The 18th cent. examples on the CW link, at the end of the post, look completely different than ours (and a lot like their coffeepot friends).
May 18, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Thanks! It’s interesting how a short narrative on an a historic artifact can sometimes make you salivate. And imagine having a –>whole pot!<– of chocolate. I guess you're supposed to share. Why don't we still have these things?
May 19, 2011 at 12:57 pm
You are definitely supposed to share; this chocolate pot no longer has any matching cups, but our other example has a little set of cups for spreading the hot chocolate joy. Or you could just have your own pot for breakfast, of course!
May 7, 2014 at 1:56 pm
[…] Minor Anderson in 1901. We don’t know if this was part of a wedding gift or not (remember, as Julia’s teapot shows, presents given before the marriage were marked with the bride’s maiden initials); […]