THE CREAM-JUG

“I must further advise you, Harriet,” says a lady in the Fool of Quality, in admonishing her daughter, “not to heap such mountains of sugar into your tea, nor to pour such a deluge of cream in; people will certainly take you for the daughter of a dairymaid. There is young Fanny Quirp, who is a lady by birth, and she has brought herself to the perfection of never suffering the tincture of her tea to be spoilt by whitening, nor the flavour to be adulterated by a grain of sweet.” This was published from 1766 to 1770 and indicates that a set of rules for observance was afoot in a time when etiquette was formal.

But if cream was neglected by some precisians, the cream-jug bears evidence that in many circles it was a welcome and possibly very necessary addition to the strong green tea then drunk.

It was etiquette to place the spoon in the cup to show the hostess that no more tea was required. It was the custom at Scottish tea-tables and possibly elsewhere to have numbered spoons. The guests did not ask for a second cup until all the other guests had finished the first. Hence the cups were passed up to the hostess and the spoons numbered to ensure that each got his own again.

Sir Alexander Boswell in his poem “Edinburgh” writes:

The silver strainer had apparently become obsolete in Sir Walter Scott’s day, for he writes in St. Ronan’s Well:

“A silver strainer, in which in times more economical than our own, the lady of the house placed the tea-leaves after the very last drop had been exhausted, that they might hospitably be divided among the company to be eaten with bread and butter.”

The Scots are a hardy race.

In lieu of the strainer a long-handled spoon with pierced bowl was used to thrust down the spout, as sometimes the tea refused to pour out. Etiquette forbade the hostess to blow down the spout.

The beauty and variety of the cream-jugs may be traced for a whole century. One of the earliest examples (illustrated p. 301) shows a fine helmet-shaped jug, having the London hall-marks for the year 1736, and the mark of Paul de Lamerie the maker, renowned for his superlative work. The handle is original in conception and has a grotesque head as a terminal. The ornament is elaborate and representative of the best types of the George II era. A cream-jug of about 1740, made in Dublin by John Hamilton (illustrated p. 339) may be compared with the above example. The helmet form with the undulating rim is common to both specimens, but the treatment differs in character. The Irish example has three feet and possesses beauties peculiarly its own.

That early eighteenth-century examples were not always highly ornate is shown by the cream-jug with London hall-marks for 1726. This represents the transitional stage between the simple character of the Queen Anne styles and the elaboration found in those of the reign of George III.

The series of cream-jugs illustrated (p. 305) shows the evolution in form from the Queen Anne rotundity to more slender examples; the handle becomes broken in its curves and three feet are in frequent use. The lip is pointed and elongated. This latter style lasted from about 1740 to about 1765 (see a fine Irish example of this type illustrated, p. 339). This specimen is in date 1764.

Illustrated on page 305 are two typical examples of the last quarter of the eighteenth century. It will be observed that the three feet have in 1779 disappeared. The single foot is now fashionable and varies in height. The body becomes elongated. The handles still retain the older mid-century forms, with slight variations. The tendency to increased height in the cream-jugs at this date may be compared with the casters illustrated in Chapter IX.

A selection of late George III cream-jugs (illustrated p. 309) shows the classic tendency at the closing years of the eighteenth century and the first decade of the nineteenth century. The example, in date 1790, is tall and has a foot terminating in a square base, like a classic vase. The adjacent example, ten years later, is a reversion to the potter’s form with flat bottom. The flat-topped handle is a reminiscence of the classic urn. The evolution in form, as is seen, is steadily towards the fuller body. The examples shown on the same page, in date 1804 and 1809, indicate new tendencies. It is merely the swing of the pendulum of fashion. In the first example the foot is beginning to appear in the form of a narrow rim at the base. The handle in the last specimen returns to the severe classic circular shape.

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CREAM JUGS