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| Paul Revere with silver teapot. |
I will sheepishly admit that I am not the biggest history
buff – my husband has this area more
than covered. That said, even I (in my
history ignorance), know about Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride. Even I
know he was a revolutionary. As an
aside, his name also evokes memories of my father singing a silly campfire song,
“I got a horrrrrse right here, his name is Paul Revere…”, but that’s neither here
nor there. But what of the man pre midnight ride?!?!? Turns
out this revolutionary was rather civilized, in fact, he had a day job.
Before entering the annals of history, Paul Revere was a successful silversmith
of high quality teaware. Residing in
Boston, a mecca of all things trendsetting at the time (1700s), the Revere family was
well known for its silver teapots. And
of course, at this time in American history there was no lack of tea (though
the lot of it may have been illegal). No
matter though, despite the shady tea origins, Paul Revere was tickled pink to
create stunning masterpieces for his customers.
Learning the trade from his French father, young Revere began
apprenticing at the tender age of 13. By the time adulthood rolled around, Revere
was riding the waves of a very steady business.
For a long time, he preferred the elegant and rather popular Queen Anne
style. Enter the Boston Tea Party,
December 1773. When those colonial protesters
dumped that tea into icy waters, the course of American history (and tea) would
be entangled forevermore. This is a
whole other fascinating tale for another day, however. For the sake of this story, it is sufficed to say that drinking tea became, er,
unpopular. Unpatriotic. Perhaps America’s love affair with coffee was
born at this time? Who knows. Back on track…due to all this turmoil, the
demand for teapots declined, of course. At
this time, Paul Revere ditched his trade and focused on what he would become famous for. Ten years passed with
Mr. Revere focusing on being a revolutionary.
During this time, he apparently released a drawing with political intent: America sketched as a by and large naked
woman being pinned by the arms and forced to drink tea. If that didn’t get undies in a bunch, I don’t
know what would. Huh. Creative fellow, this Revere. After the ashes of this disastrous era cooled
off, America began to pick up their tea cups once again. I would, however, venture to say that tea has never reached its
pinnacle again in North America since these events. Pity. But
Paul Revere had the creative urge to begin designing teapots again, and so he
did. By the late 1780s, Paul’s teapots
had taken on a new, intriguing style.
Leaving behind their former voluptuous curves, Revere’s pots became more
squat, drum-like and boasted solid wooden handles.
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| From Paul Revere's later designs. |
Well after his death in 1818, the colonial
way of life saw a resurgence and tea drinking gained in popularity. Like many artists that have come and gone,
Revere’s works were once again celebrated and enjoyed among new
generations. Like all good things
are. The midnight rider changed history
in more than one way, how very interesting indeed. Today one can see a handful of Revere’s
silver pieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I may have to travel to New York for research
purposes. Ahem. Now, off I go to polish my silver tea service…until
next time!
