Glorious wonderful Tea. It’s been enjoyed for 1000’s of years all over the world from Kings and Queens to moms and dads, with no sign of ever going away.  Now I’m personally more of a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy a nice flavoured cup once in a while and I always have it on hand for guests (this is mandatory as a host).

Today’s post is going to showcase vintage advertising for Tea brands from the 1920s – 1950s. Enjoy!

1932 Ladie home Journal Ad featuring Tea. 1930s Vintage Advertising
1932 Ladies Home Journal Illustration-Source: Etsy

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

Vintage Tea Advertisting

1920s-1950s

1920s Ad for “C.W.S. Tea”.

1920s Tea Advertising Vintage Ad
Source: The Advertising Archives

Mappin And Webb 1920s France Cc Tea vintage advertising. Very Art Deco feel to the ad illustration.

Mappin And Webb 1920s France Cc Tea vintage advertising
Source: The Advertising Archives

Home and Colonial Tea -1920s vintage ad.

1920s Vintage Tea Ad Home and Colonial Tea featuring a woman in a 1920s look.
Source: Pinterest

King Cole Tea is a Canadian tea company that has been around since 1910 from Saint Johns, New Brunswick.

King Cole Tea vintage 1930s Canadian Tea Company featuring 1930s fashions.

Lipton’s Tea-1931 vintage ad.

1931 Lipton Tea vintage advertising. 1930s vintage ad.

1940’s Australian Ad for Bushells Tea.

Bushells 1940s Vintage Tea Advertising featuring 2 women drinking tea in 1940s fashions and 1940s hairstyles.
Source: eBay

1940s Vintage Lipton Tea Advertisement.

1940s Vintage Lipton Tea Advertisement featuring a woman a 1940s dress and 1940s hairstyle drinking tea.
Source: Pinterest

1944 Tea Advertisement for Canterbury Tea published in the Family Circle Magazine.

Illustrated Vintage Canterbury Tea Advertisement, 1944 featuring 1940s hairstyles.
Source: Flickr

Tea Council Ad from the 1950s.

vintage tea advertising 1940s 1950s

Woman’s Day, November 1952. Note: Woman’s Day was originally produced for A&P stores as a free in-store menu/recipe planner (Source).

A&P Vintage Tea Advertising 1950s
Source: Flickr

Ty-Phoo Tea, Great British Tea since 1903.

Typhoo tea vintage advertising featuring a woman in a 1950s dress serving tea.

This is a fun Lipton’s Tea vintage ad illustration.

Lipton Tea 1950 vintage ad
Source: Pinterest

1950 LIFE Magazine Tea Council Ad.

1950 LIFE Magazine Tea Council Ad - vintage magazine ad
Source: Etsy

“If life gets you down…TURN TO TEA! The cup that cheers!”

vintage tea advertisement
Source: Pinterest

Hope you enjoyed this roundup of vintage Tea Advertisements friends. Do you have a favourite out of the ones listed? Are you a tea drinker yourself? Share your thoughts in the comments below and have a wonderful day!

FURTHER READING:

Vintage Advertising Blog Post Archive

Liz

17 Comments on Let Them Drink Tea! Vintage Tea Ads from the 1920s-1950s

  1. Well, being English, you can probably guess that I love my tea! I do only drink decaf though as I’ve been caffeine free for over four years. I love all of these adverts, they’re just gorgeous but I think my favourite is the Mappin & Webb one, which I’m assuming is advertising the tea service to buy as they’re still a luxury jewellery and gifting company.

    One thing I will mention is that the first image from the 30s actually shows a coffee pot, not a tea pot, so they’re more likely to be drinking coffee. Coffee pots are taller than tea pots, which are actually quite dumpy. You can see the difference on the Mappin & Webb advert, the coffee pot is on the left and the tea pot is on the stand. I think that’s a hot water pot on the right to top them both up with, which you sometimes get served in posh hotels when having afternoon tea. xx

  2. I think my favorite ad is “Take Tea and See” because it’s mid-pour, which always gets people excited, and it’s steaming. And there’s the bonus of the man in his skivvies, holding a giant teapot LOL. In Texas, we mainly drink iced tea. I drink iced tea every day. The only hot tea my family drinks is when it’s cold and too late for coffee (ha!) like Sleepytime tea. But I love the images!

  3. I was in fact just sitting down with a cup of tea when I started reading this, so how appropriate! And, if you are wondering, I am definitely looking as glamorous as the ladies in these ads.

  4. These are lovely images and much more glamorous than tea adverts are now. I’m a big tea drinker, decaf though, but I can’t get through the day without lots of cups!

  5. Simply take a pinch of the tea leaves, place them in the tea strainer and pour the water into the cup. Remove the tea strainer and tea leaves the tea is ready. This is my method! The tea is weak but refreshing. Alternatively, you can add the leaves to the tea pot and strain through the tea strainer if you have more people.

  6. I’m only about a year late…but here’s a few interesting tidbits to add: A&P began retail as The Great American Tea Company in 1863 (prior to that, Gilman & Co., c1859, wholesale only). It was later renamed The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and eventually shortened to A&P as it began to sell a wider array of grocery items. TESCO (UK grocery) began as a tea stall and is now a retail conglomerate. Both are the opposite of Lipton who began as a grocer and became known for tea!

  7. It also goes to show it is about the journey, not the destination which is such a great lesson for New Year’s Day. It helped me formulate my motto for 2019 – Don’t let today’s circumstances dictate tomorrow’s opportunities! Happy New Year!

    Slainte,
    Short & Stout

    P.S. Apologies for “…here’s a few…” The internet is not an excuse for bad grammar. I didn’t complete my edit and am now appropriately ashamed.

    P.S.S If not already, you should follow @magpieethel on Instagram, I think you would love her style and spunk. Plus, you look a bit alike!

  8. Old post but so valuable, thanks! Does anyone know the tea that tiny (porcelain) toys inside the package? An old friend of mine from church cannot recall the tea brand, and i wanted to surprise him by looking it up… but a’las after searching for nearly 2h, have come up empty handed.

    Any thoughts/ideas?

    • All my posts are “Old” HA! Glad you found it valuable. Hopefully someone will see this comment and be able to help (I unfortantely don’t know the answer).

      thanks for dropping by!

      Liz

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