Smoking, drinking and the British sweet tooth

Coffee pot

Probably made in Stoke-on-Trent, 1780-1810
Creamware, with overglaze printed decoration

Object number 3266
Bequeathed by Sam Howard

See this object at Touchstones Rochdale This object may not always be on display. Please check with the venue before visiting.

Coffee pot

This coffee pot is decorated with a printed design probably depicting a colonial scene. The expansion of coffee production on plantations worked by enslaved Africans during the 1800s and 1900s, turned this fashionable drink into an everyday commodity. Cheap tea and coffee wares, such as this creamware coffee pot, became one of Britain's most successful exports, sent all over the world by manufacturers such as Josiah Wedgwood.

During this period Brazil became the largest and most successful producer of coffee in the world. It was also the last country to abolish the institution of slavery, in 1888.

This information was provided by curators from Touchstones Rochdale.