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In the1920s and 30s the Staffordshire
pottery houses continued to make
novelty teapots. James Sadler & Sons,
famous for their ‘Crinoline Lady’
teapots, also made teapots shaped like
tanks, ocean liners and aeroplanes, and
a series decorated with Mabel Lucie
Attwell cartoon characters. Perhaps
their most interesting collection was
the iconic ‘Racing Teapots’ line in the
shape of racing cars. These came in
cream, black, green, yellow, blue, grey,
pink and maroon and all had a license
plate that read ‘OKT42’.
Though mass produced and
inexpensive at the time, and more
amusing than aesthetically pleasing,
these teapots from the 1920s and 30s
are now collectibles costing much
more than their original price. Clarice
Cliff joined the Staffordshire firm of
Lingard Webster in 1912 as an
apprentice and then went on to start
the Art Deco movement along with
Suzie Cooper. They created a range of
novelty teapots which can now fetch
up to £12,000 each!
A giant teapot made in the early
1900s by Gibson & Sons, another
Staffordshire firm, suddenly surfaced
in 2003 after lying covered up in a
garage for decades!The owner claimed
that it had been given to his
grandfather, a china and glassware
retailer, by Sydney Gibson in exchange
for a dinner service he had ordered for
his daughter’s wedding. The teapot is
76 cm tall and weighs 50 kg. It needs
two men to lift it when empty and can
hold 1024 cups of tea. It was sold to
an American collector in 2003 for
£5,000!
WWII curtailed the production of
novelty teapots until the 1950s, when
country cottages, animals and seaside
themes were the inspiration for
novelty teapots that came into the
market.There is also a WWII Willy’s
Jeep teapot in existence!
In the 1970s, Roger Michell designed
the ‘Walking Ware’ line of teapots
manufactured by Carlton Ware. This
line of teapots has legs complete with
socks and shoes!
Pottery is an art form and many
contemporary artists have tried their
hand at designing kitschy teapots for
fun, such as a commode! Paul
Cardew’s teapots are very popular
with collectors, and he also has a line
of miniature teapots.
Teapot Island in Kent has very
interesting novelty teapots on display,
including a set shaped like The
Beatles, a cowboy in a bath and
Princess Diana’s face.
In India too, exclusive teapots of
eccentric design and made of unusual
material, are displayed at ‘arty’
exhibitions and advertised online.
Novelty teapots, popular more for
their fun, unusual and novel aspects at
the time that they were made, rather
than for their exclusivity or aesthetics,
are now considered collectibles of
inordinate value. So, if anyone has an
ugly looking teapot lying in an old
box in the attic, basement or
storeroom, my advice is, have it
valued. It might just turn out to be
worth a fortune! On the other hand,
if you happen to buy a modern model,
it just might become a family
heirloom to future generations!
35 January 2016
34 January 2016
Racing Teapots
Crinoline Lady
Attwell Characters
Aeroplane
Clarice Cliff Teapot
Teapot Island
Walking Ware
Bathing Cowboy
Miniature Desk Teapot
Miniature Sewing Machine Teapot
The ‘Fabulous Four’ Teapots!
Miniature Commode Teapot
Ocean Liner
Battle Tank