A Tea Caddy Collection

Through photographs and anecdotes, Broadway author and director Mark Bramble presents the vast collection of antique tea caddies he and his late mother assembled over more than 5 decades of collecting. Explore the historical and societal atmospheres that engendered such varied styles of caddies and how interest in these treasures, created for storing tea, coincided with the competitive search for the formula to make "true" porcelain. The history behind the tea caddy reinforces the overlap between art and functionality, and how the culture of artistic creation is a random blend of geography, sociology, talent, and luck. In this generous volume, collectors are treated to an endearing reflection on a lifetime hobby of mother and son, whose collection encompasses centuries of worldwide artistic creation.

Mark Bramble has presented his Broadway musicals Barnum and 42nd Street all over the world, and his travels have provided unique collecting opportunities in lands both near and far.