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Wade Wall Display
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Red Rose Tea History...
The story of Red Rose tea began way back in 1894 in Canada. Theodore Harding Estabrooks was born in Wicklow, Carleton County, New Brunswick in 1861. He attended KerrÃs Business College in Saint John, New Brunswick and went into business himself in 1894 on Dock Street in downtown Saint John. He was a local business leader that came up with a great idea...produce and pack a quality blended tea that was consistent from cup to cup. Before that, tea was sold loose from tea chests by local merchants and quality varied a great deal. Mr. Estabrooks innovation meant that tea lovers could count on the quality of tea in every Red Rose package - a tradition that continues to this day.
Initially, Red Rose was sold mainly in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada, but soon distribution expanded into other parts of Canada and into the United States beginning in the 1920's. Distribution initially was in cities near the Canadian border such as Portland, Buffalo, and Detroit. In 1929, Red Rose introduced tea bags for the first time.
The business continued to expand and in 1932 a new chapter in the history of Red Rose began. Mr. Estabrooks sold Red Rose to Brooke Bond & Company of England. Arthur Brooke had founded Brooke Bond and Company in 1869, starting with a single tea shop. There was no Mr. Bond, but Arthur Brooke thought it sounded better and what was to become one of the world's leading tea companies was born. During the 1890's, Arthur Brooke expanded beyond tea shops and into the wholesale tea market using vans to deliver his tea all over England. The Brooke Bond name became synonymous with tea throughout the United Kingdom and his company introduced a second brand - PG Tips in 1930. Brooke Bond also became a major brand in the large tea market of India. With the sale to Brooke Bond, Red Rose was part of a global tea company and flourished under the guidance of the parent company and Arthur Brooke's son Gerald, who became chairman in 1910.
Following the Second World War, Brooke Bond established their Canadian business in Montreal Quebec and continued to grow the Red Rose tea brand. By the 1970's, Red Rose was sold in much of the United States and Canada.
In 1985, Unilever NV acquired Brooke Bond Foods, Inc. Shortly thereafter, Unilever sold the rights to the Red Rose brand in the United States to Redco Foods, Inc. retaining the rights in Canada and other parts of the world. Production of Red Rose tea for the United States market moved to Little Falls, New York in 1988.
Today Red Rose is blended with the same care that Theodore Harding Estabrooks established more than a century ago. Red Rose contains high-grown black teas from Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Kenya, India, and Indonesia. The result is a blend that produces a full flavored cup of tea for the tea lover. We think Mr. Estabrooks would be proud.
The Story Of Tea
According to Chinese legend, the story of tea began in 2737 BC. Emperor Shen Nung, who was known as the "Divine Healer", always boiled his water before drinking it. He had observed that those who boiled their water had better health. One afternoon, as he knelt before his boiling water, some leaves from a nearby tree blew into the water. The Emperor noted a delightful aroma and, upon sipping the beverage, proclaimed it heaven sent.
Since this first cup of tea almost five thousand years ago, the popularity of tea has grown to the point that it is now the second most consumed beverage in the world. Only water is more popular. Shortly after Emperor Shen Nung's discovery, tea's popularity spread to Japan and the rest of the Far East. The Dutch first brought tea from China to Europe and America by 1650. In 1669, the East India Company began bringing tea leaves to England, and in 1721, the company was granted a monopoly on all tea imported into the British Empire. Initially, tea was very expensive and available only for royalty and the upper class. At the time, tea prices were $30 to $50 per pound. One pound of tea makes about two hundred tea bags. During the 1800's, tea clippers raced from China to London and other ports. The first clipper to arrive with its cargo fetched the highest prices. Largely because of this new method of speedy transportation, the supply of tea became more plentiful and thus less expensive.
Tea played a dramatic role in the establishment of the United States of America. In 1767, the British Government put a tax on the tea used by American colonists. Protesting "taxation without representation", the colonists did not allow tea to be unloaded. In December 1773, colonists, dressed as American Indians, boarded ships from the East India Company and threw three hundred chests of tea into Boston harbor. The Boston Tea Party, of course, led to American independence.
America was also the birthplace of iced tea. At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in the summer of 1904, the weather was very hot. A young Englishman named Richard Blechynden was serving hot tea for days with no takers. In desperation, he tried pouring tea into glasses with pieces of ice. The beverage was a hit and iced tea was born.
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Figurines
Red Rose began to give away Wade miniatures 42 years ago, in 1967. At first the promotion was very restricted, in terms of the geographical area. Figurines were given away in Quebec, Canada as part of a short term promotion. The results were so successful that the promotion was gradually extended until it covered all of Canada. In 1983 the promotion was finally launched "full scale" in the United States. To date, it is estimated that more than 300 million Wade figurines have been given away in packages of tea in America.
Although figurines had been offered to American collectors via mail and had been test marketed in two regions in the 1970's (Pittsburgh and Pacific North West), it was not until 1983 that they became widely available in the United States. While the molds were the same as those used for Canadian series, coloring and glazes were different.
At the end of each series a closeout option is given to consumers to purchase a complete set of figures from the current series while inventory supplies last. After a series has closed out, availability will be limited to trading among other collectors. Look for closeout options in specially marked boxes of Red Rose Tea at the end of each series promotion. We at Red Rose adhere to a very strict "no sale" policy during in-pack promotions. Our figurines are for promotional purposes only.
Wade Ceramics
Whisper Wade "Whimsies" into many people's ears and it will mean only one thing...small animal figurines from the George Wade Pottery of Burslem, England. Wade began in 1810 in Burslem, England, with a small workshop and a single pottery oven making mostly bottles and pottery items. He soon turned his attention to the more profitable ceramics needs of textile mills, which supported the company into the late 1920s. As well as industrial ceramics, Wade produced a line of beautiful figurines, many Art Deco. These were so popular that animal figures were added. The line ran into a snag when it was found that the Cellulose finish turned yellow and peeled off with age. In the late 1930s some models were reissued with a high gloss underglaze finish.
Wade Whimsies were intended for children, but they also appeal to adults who have not lost their sense of imagination. The Wade figurines have become collectors' items and are very much in demand. Today, Wade figurines are still offered as a premium with the purchase of select boxes of Red Rose Teas.
Many Whimsies, often those apparently in the same range, are different from each other. This is due to the length of time they were made and the volume of output. Molds became worn and were retooled for fresh use. Nearly all Red Rose Figurines, with the exception of the very first, have one significant feature: fine moulded parellel ridges on the underside of the base. It now seems to have become a "trademark" for all Wade "Whimsies" to follow, making them remarkable Red Rose collectibles.
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