Maker: W.T. Copeland & Sons
Design style: Art Deco
An icon of Art Deco streamlined design, this ‘Cube’ teapot by Copelands was supplied to the Cunard White Star Line of transatlantic luxury liners.
The base is printed with the ‘C’ emblem of Cunard-White Star. During the Great Depression, both Cunard and the White Star Line (of Titanic fame) ran into financial difficulty. The UK government agreed to financial assistance provided that the two competitors merge their North Atlantic operations. Cunard-White Star lasted from 1934 to 1949 when Cunard bought out its old rival.
Beneath Cunard White Star is printed COPELANDS/GROSVENOR CHINA/STONIERS/LIVERPOOL. Grosvenor China was the trading name of Jackson & Gosling, acquired by W.T. Copeland & Sons in 1932/3. Stoniers is a renowned china and glass retailer in Liverpool that supplied crockery to the White Star Line.
In the top left corner of the base is a square containing patent information for the Cube design. The Cube teapot was designed to be non-drip, chip resistant and easy to stack. Its shape provided stability so that it would not roll over when being poured onboard a ship. It was widely used on transatlantic ocean liners, railways and in hotels and restaurants. Robert Crawford Johnson patented it in 1917 and it was still in use on the QE2 liner in the 1980s.
Manufacture was licensed to several English factories. The Cube teapot was often accompanied by a taller hot water pot, as well as creamer and sugar. There were also silver-plated versions.
Condition Perfect.
Length & width: 9 cm x 8.8 cm
Height: 7.9 cm
Net weight: 349 g
Medium: Earthenware
Origin: Spode Works, Stoke-on-Trent, England
See Spode and Copeland in Makers & Artists for background on the factory
