1891 Samuel Rowbottom's Gas Teamaker

On 17 December 1891 Samuel Rowbottom applied for a patent for his Automatic Tea Making Apparatus. The patent is for an Automatic Heating Apparatus, number 22077, 17th December 1891. (The record appears to be missing from Espacenet). The patent was granted in 1892. This is the second known teasmade, but I have not been able to confirm how many were made, and to what extent they were a commercial success. The photograph here shows Samuel Rowbottom at an exhibition with his teasmade. (Copyright Michael Lewis 2006).

The invention used the same principal as present day teasmades, in that water is boiled in a specially designed kettle from which it is forced by steam pressure to ascend through a tube, whence it is fed to a teapot. Samuel Rowbottom’s teasmade was fuelled by gas, and required a permanent pilot light, which by today’s standards would suggest a kitchen appliance. However, in Victorian England gas was a popular fuel for those who could afford it, and as the gas supply was piped throughout the house, it is quite conceivable that Rowbottom’s invention was destined for the bedroom.