Exc. Cond. Charming mid-century Johnson Bros teapot Old Britain Castles pink red

  

All the charm of Victorian England is summed up in this almost antique ironstone teapot by Johnson Brothers, England, with the romantic "Old Britain Castles" pattern. This model, I believe, dates to the 1930s or 1940s, based on the way "Made in England" is inscribed in soft relief on the bottom (see picture)---and also because the lady I got it from told me it came from her grand-father's farm in New Jersey! I'm saying "red", but it's in between red and pink, to be really accurate I'd say it is raspberry.

I don't think they ever used it, considering how pristine it is. The teapot features an interestingly "profiled" lid (see picture), and is entirely covered with raspberry transferware decor, focusing on two English castles.

One is presented as "Donnington Castle" on the lid, but funnily enough, the picture shows not Donnington Castle (a medieval ruin) but Donington Hall (with just one N in the middle), built in 1790! On that castle's grounds, the Donington Park motor racing circuit was created in 1931. The other castle featured on that teapot (on both sides) is presented as "Farnham Castle". It's actually the medieval keep at Farnham Castle, an ensemble of buildings whose first part was built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, grandson of William the Conqueror and bishop of Winchester, and which would become the residence of the bishops of Winchester for the next 800 years.

In this romantic depiction, this tower-like building is surrounded and partly eaten by vegetation, while today it has been cleared and restored (see video). Don't you feel like touring England countryside and its countless castles and parks?

Well, in the meantime, you can always dream while savoring a cup of tea poured from that teapot! It holds 4 cups and measures 9.5" across from the tip of the spout to the handle, is 5.5" wide and 4.5 high. Please make sure you read the following carefully.