Tea Tables To Tea Room

“Tea Is A Cup of Life”

—author unknown

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HARTFORD, CONN. — The 35th Annual Connecticut Spring Antiques Show will be March 8–9 at the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford. Hosted by The Haddam Historical Society, the show is recognized as one of the finest exhibitions of early American-made furniture and accessories and attracts serious collectors, as well as new collectors.

The show will feature 70 esteemed dealers who will offer some of the finest pre-1840 furniture, porcelain and pottery, silver and pewter, fine art, textiles, ironware and brass. Most of the dealers are returning exhibitors and some have been participating for more than 30 years. Admission to the show is $10 and covers both days, and parking is free.

Returning for the second year, Haddam Collects will be at the front entrance exhibiting a sampler of antique tea tables loaned by members of The Haddam Historical Society. The display will feature a range of styles and periods of tea tables, some owned by local families for generations.

The show has earned a reputation not only as a destination show with quality merchandise but also as an educational experience for both seasoned collectors and new visitors. This year the show will offer three educational booth chats on Sunday afternoon by distinguished and knowledgeable exhibitors.

The 1 pm booth chat on Sunday, March 9, will feature Lewis Scranton of Killingworth, Conn., who will discuss the identification, condition and form of American painted tin and demonstrate the difference between painted versus stenciled tin sharing items from his personal collection as part of the talk. Scranton is widely respected for his expertise in New England pottery, most notably redware.

At 1:45 pm on that same day, Charles and Barbara Adams, of South Yarmouth, Mass., who have exhibited at the Haffenreffer Museum in Providence, the Worcester Art Museum, the Wilton Historical Society and the Old Town Maine Historical Society, will present a booth chat titled “Is it Bennington or Rockingham?” They will touch on the history of pottery at Bennington, Vt., and will use examples from their inventory to show how to identify pieces that are not marked. In addition, they will show and discuss several rare and seldom seen objects from their private collection.

At 2:30 pm on Sunday, Arthur Liverant, of Nathan Liverant and Son, of Colchester, Conn., will give a presentation on “Little Chairs for Little Buns.” Liverant and his family have been actively dealing in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century American furniture, paintings, silver, glass and related accessories since 1920.

The show experience will be enhanced this year with a new menu and caterer in the Tea Room, a relaxing place to enjoy some tasty tidbits or light lunch. The Haddam Historical Society is pleased to announce that Leslie Roberts of Thyme in a Bottle, Inc of West Hartford, Conn., will be offering an eclectic menu featuring gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts.

All proceeds from the show will support the historical society’s programs, community outreach, collection preservation and maintenance of the Thankful Arnold House Museum. During the year, a variety of programs and tours, including a talk by the Connecticut State archeologist on the Venture Smith dig in Haddam Neck, a tour of farms and barns in Haddam Neck and a sampler workshop will be offered.

The “Haddam Collects” tea table display and Tea Room theme have a direct connection to the history of the Thankful Arnold House Museum and is a vital part of the story of this Connecticut River Valley landmark. Thankful who resided here from 1796 to 1843 would have served formal tea to guests in her front parlor as a sign of awareness of gentility and would have had an appropriate tea table to conduct this important ritual. Tea tables were considered among the finest pieces of furniture during this period and many from the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries had a circular top affixed to a center pillar that tipped up for storage. Joseph Arnold’s 1823 inventory lists among a number of tables a cherry stand and one turn-up stand valued at $2.50.

In the early Twentieth Century, Charles Ingersoll and his wife Nell, owned the house and opened a tea room in the westernmost room of the house. The enterprise was called The Red House Tea Room, an allusion to the exterior color of the house at the time. Ingersoll was the great grandson of Joseph and Thankful Arnold and the fourth generation of the Arnold Family to reside in the house.

Tea rooms gained popularity in the early Twentieth Century and were found in small towns, suburbs and large cities throughout America. They were traditionally run by women who provided home cooked meals in a quiet comfortable homey atmosphere. Most patrons were women although men also frequented tea rooms after their popularity caught on. Tea rooms also catered to motorists who “sauntered” through old New England towns and would stop for simple fare in a tranquil restful place. A 1915 Hartford Courant article on the popularity of tea rooms noted that there was “hardly a town in Connecticut where a tea room is not found in some Colonial House.”

The Red House Tea Room accommodated visitors traveling along the Middlesex Turnpike from Hartford to the shoreline and had all the ingredients for a successful venture — the historic house, location along a busy roadway and quaint Colonial neighborhood. In the archives of The Haddam Historical Society is an original menu from the tea room which shows they offered a variety of simple fare including “Waffles and creamed chicken with tea or coffee” for $1.25 and “Toast and marmalade with tea” for 50 cents. Chicken dinners, southern style could be served by appointment.

It is not clear how long The Red House Tea Room remained in business, but many tea rooms lost favor by the 1930s because motorists felt the prices were excessive and they were seeking a faster meal on the road. Travelers started to patronize the luncheonette or roadside stand which was the predecessor to today’s fast food chains. The historical society is fortunate enough to have the original sign from The Red House Tea Room and a direct link to this fascinating era of women’s history.

For information on the Thankful Arnold House Museum and the Haddam Historical Society, visit www.haddamhistory.org.