We all know the origin of
teapots, the question is why do people collect teapots? Like most collections
it starts with a single item and then grows. So for example you have this plain
brown earthenware teapot, it is functional, not very pretty but does the job. It
is however the first teapot you bought when you moved into your flat, your gran
gave it you when you left home to go to university. It starts to drip and a
friend buys you a pretty one with a cup and saucer for your birthday. You start
to use that one and the plain brown one sits on the shelf but you don’t want to
through it out because it has memories.
You pass a comment at work that
your grandma always had leaf tea and said that teabags were the sweepings from the
factory. Someone then brings in a china teapot and some loose leaf tea for a
cup of tea in the afternoon. That’s it you are hooked and you go and buy a
china teapot at a local vintage fair. You are now unwittingly the owner of a
collection of teapots. You start finding tea pots in all shapes, sizes, famous
makes and patterns, novelty and commemorative, in books, magazines, shops and
on TV. You know you are an avid collector when you clear space on a shelf to
display your teapots, it is only going to get worse, when you have to buy a
cabinet or book case because there is no room on the shelf.
Trends come and go and at the
moment (and you only have to look at Ebay) the prices for Sadler teapots are
very high, some reaching £350 - £500. Until recently good prices (circa £50) were
paid for Royal Albert Old country Roses teapots, then everyone decided to jump
on that bandwagon and the prices have fallen to between £15 – £25
approximately. Novelty teapots still can command decent prices dependent on
subject matter and of course rarity.
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