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1758-1759

Tea Canister

Partnership of Samuel Herbert and probably Henry Bailey, London

1750-?

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Containers made especially to hold tea began to be produced at the end of the seventeenth century. They were originally referred to as canisters, but by the 1780s the term caddy had come into general use. The word caddy is taken from the Malayan word kati, which refers to the unit weight (about one to one-and-a-half pounds) in which tea was sold.

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