Editing Teasmade (section)

== History ==
On 19 September 1891, Charles Maynard Walker of Dulwich published details of an "Early Riser's Friend" in ''Work'' magazine.<ref name="Work"/> The article was detailed and included illustrations, but the teamaker was never patented.

On 17 December 1891, Samuel Rowbottom, of 82 Abbey Road, Derby, applied for a patent for his Automatic Tea Making Apparatus, the patent being granted in 1892. It used a clockwork alarm clock, a [[Gas stove|gas ring]] and [[pilot light]]. There is a photograph in existence of Rowbottom displaying his Automatic Tea Maker on an exhibition stand. Although there is no evidence that he commercially produced his tea maker, the concept he invented of using the steam from boiling water to force the water out through a tube into the teapot is still in use today.

A teamaker was invented by [[Albert E. Richardson (inventor)|Albert E. Richardson]], an iron turner and fitter from Ashton-under-Lyne. The machine and all rights to it were purchased from Richardson by the Birmingham gunsmith Frank Clarke, for an undisclosed sum. On 7 April 1902, a patent for this tea maker was registered by Clarke. He called it "An Apparatus Whereby a Cup of Tea or Coffee is Automatically Made" and it was later marketed as "A Clock That Makes Tea!".

On 2 May 1932, George Absolom submitted an application for a patent on his invention, an electric automatic tea maker. The patent (number 400672) was passed on 2 November 1933. This invention was manufactured and marketed as the Teesmade.<ref name="Absolom"/>

The word "teesmade" was initiated by Absolom and predates the use of the word "teasmade" by about four years. He applied for a Registered Design using the name Teesmade, but this was not accepted by the Patent Office on the grounds that the unit was not made on the River Tees and that this might confuse the public.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} Geographic trademarks were invariably refused at this time, and indeed the government passed legislation to forbid them in 1938 (this legislation has since been relaxed).{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} Although the name could not be formally protected, from 1932 Absolom continued to trade as Teesmade Co. Goblin were in no position to object, as the name had the indisputable advantage of prior use.

A similar electric teamaker was patented by William Hermann Brenner Thornton in association with [[Goblin Vacuum Cleaners|Goblin]] in 1933, shortly after Absolom's patent.<ref name="Thornton-1933"/> Brenner subsequently sold the patent (414,088 1934) to the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co. Ltd. who marketed it under the Goblin Teasmade name. This was one of the first successful commercial automatic tea makers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Teasmade automatic tea-making machine {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection|url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co48927/teasmade-automatic-tea-making-machine|access-date=2021-11-25|website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Teasmade-machines-at-the-Science-Museum-London-UK.jpg|thumb|Goblin Teasmades at the Science Museum: (l-r) 1932 prototype, 1945, 1966 and 1972 production models]]
Goblin's next model, also invented by Thornton, was patented in 1934 and was manufactured from 1936. This was the first tea-maker sold under the name Teasmade. A patent sketch of 1934 shows the essential features.<ref name="Thornton-1934"/> A kettle with a tube leading into a teapot was heated by an electric element switched by an alarm clock. The kettle sat upon a spring-loaded pad with a switch, so that when steam pressure pushed the boiling water into the pot, the pad was allowed to rise and cut the power to the element.

=== Ownership of the trademark ===
In the 1970s, Goblin was acquired by [[Birmingham Sound Reproducers]] (BSR),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swanproducts.co.uk/about.php|title=The Swan Brand Heritage|last=|first=|date=|website=Swan Products|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124075951/http://www.swanproducts.co.uk/about.php|archive-date=24 November 2011|access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> and at some point the Teasmade trademark passed from Goblin to Swan Housewares Limited, another BSR subsidiary. Archives at the [[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|Intellectual Property Office]] show the mark passed in 1991 from Swan to [[Moulinex]], who had bought Swan and other brands from BSR, and then to [[Littlewoods|Littlewoods Retail Limited]] in 2001 after the collapse of Moulinex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase|title=Trade mark number UK00001126018: Archived History|last=|first=|date=|website=Intellectual Property Office|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-26}}</ref> Littlewoods merged with Shop Direct Group in 2005 and rebranded to [[The Very Group]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retail-week.com/fashion/shop-direct-to-rebrand-as-very-boss-birch-reveals/7031509.article|title=Shop Direct to rebrand as Very, boss Birch reveals|last=Carr|first=Leanne|date=27 March 2019|website=Retail Week|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-26}}</ref> As of 2020 the trademark owner is Littlewoods Limited.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00001126018|title=Trade mark number UK00001126018|last=|first=|date=|website=Intellectual Property Office|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-26}}</ref>