From Mystic Tea Room
In this installment of "From the Land of Tea," we take a sneak-peek look at an upcoming page that will eventually be on display to the public. As a Patreon supporter, you have access to the page one full year before the public does.
- Patreon Release Date: December 14th, 2023.
- Public Release Date: December 14th, 2024.
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Old Tea Rooms of Maine
A Patreon Page released to the public December 14, 2024
Thanks to my Patrons, who contribute as little as $8.00 per month for an exclusive one-year sneak-peek behind the scenes, i am able to write a new web page every week on the history of folk magic and divination. After a year, these pages are given to the public to read for free. This week "Old Maine Tea Rooms" is due for release!
As winter draws in around us, my thoughts turn to hot tea, cookies, and the cozy tea rooms of yesteryear. Today i return with pleasure to Vintage Tea Rooms by Location -- namely the great state of Maine, USA -- with a gallery of very old postcards, each one accompanied by a descriptive caption. These images will eventually be on display at the Mystic Tea Room web site for every tea lover and tea leaf reader to enjoy.
To place this work in context, please read the following introductory pages
Maine Tea Rooms
Maine State Tea Room Gallery in alphabetical order by name of city or town.
Bordering on Canada, along the North-Eastern edge of the United State, the rugged state of Maine was originally part of the state of Massachusetts, but was granted its independence in 1820. It is a heavily forested and largely rural area, and is known for its tradition of hunting and fishing, which draws summer tourists for camping and recreation. The state's agricultural products include potatoes and blueberries, and its coastal fisheries are famed for their lobsters and oysters. Not all of the Maine tea room postcards in this lot are interior views, but a surprisingly high percentage of them are RPPCs -- real photo postcards -- which means that each card was individually developed in a photographer's studio, making them very rare and highly collectible.
Dry Mills
Chunking Tea Room, Dry Mills, Maine, exterior, RPPC postcard front, 1950s. The signage also advertises Coca Cola.
Chunking Tea Room, Dry-Mills, Maine, exterior, RPPC postcard back, 1950s.
Eliot
The Tea Shed at Cheeryneuk Farm in Eliot, Maine, is a rug-lover's paradise in this hand-coloured interior view published by M. F. Murdock of Eliot. We have plenty of tea rooms and tea houses in these galleries, but this is, as far as i know, the only tea shed!
Eustis
Cathedral Pines Tea Room, Eustis, Maine, exterior, RPPC postcard front. This extremely rustic tea room, with its amateur signage and lovingly-tended front flower garden, takes its name from the Cathedral Pines wilderness area. Note the twin lightning rods mounted on the roof and the old Bell Telephone Long Distance Service sign mounted on a pine tree.
Cathedral Pines Tea Room, Eustis, Maine, verandah, RPPC postcard front. A group of six women and girls sit on the screened verandah, awaiting tea service.
Farmington
The Stanwood Park Ice Cream and Tea Room, Farmington, Maine was another "cabin" style establishment. The number 5 indicates this was the fifth in a series of Farmington real-photo postcards, and the back is stamped with the indication that it was made by the Marrs Drug store of Farmington. The signage includes two large silhouettes of black bears, on which are written "Stanwood Park, S. S. Pratt, Prop." On the back of the card someone wrote in pencil, "1943," and there is no reason to doubt this date.
Kennebunkport
The Old Grist Mill Tea Room, Kennebunkport, Maine, exterior, postcard front. Here is a prime example of the New England (and British Commonwealth) inclination to repurpose old buildings as cunning tea rooms. There are many tea rooms in old barns and granaries, and quite a few, like this one, inside old grist mills ... which is why it is called The Old Grist Mill Tea Room.
This view of the interior of the Old Grist Mill Tea Room in Kennebunkport, Maine, taken around 1930, shows it to have been one of the many New England establishments in which historic and even partially dilapidated buildings were swept clean inside and then outfitted with tables and chairs for tea services. This style of tea room got its start in England, where the romance of ruined old mills, granaries, and taverns gave rise to many a romantic-literalist tea room -- in contrast to the American Midwest and West, which lacked such historic places.
Lake Sebec
The Pleasant View Tea Room at Lake Sebec, Maine, falls squarely into the category of "Fishing Cabin Tea Room," a specialty of the state. Summer visitors who came to fish would be given screened-in cabin accommodations, like the one at right, and a central office would include a tea room and gift shop where supplies could be purchased. This tea room has signage advertising "Motor Boats for Parties, Boats and Cabins for Rent," as well as "Fro-Joy Ice-Cream, Finer Flavor." A handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard reads, "Lake Sebec. On launch to cottage at 8 o'clock we ate brown bread and beans. Lue." The card was not mailed, but apparently kept as a personal memento.
Ogunquit
The Whistling Oyster of Ogunquit, Maine, was advertised as a "world-famous gift shop and tea room." Here we see the beautiful garden of delphinums and wistarias, with green umbrellas for outdoor tea service, and a large American flag flying over all. This linen-finish card, printed during the 1930s, is unusual in that it was "Made in Switzerland and imported exclusively by Runca Import Company, Rutherfordton, N.C., U.S.A." -- quite a long distance for a print job to be hired out.
The Whistling Oyster of Ogunquit, Maine, showing the back yard, with tuberous begonias and larkspurs, in another Swiss linen-finish card from the Runca Import Company, Rutherfordton, North Carolina. There appear to be glass shelves lining the large window, on which an assortment of tea-ware and statuary is displayed.
Portland
The Danish Tea Room at the Eastland Hotel in Portland, Maine conveyed a sense of old European charm, with fine woodwork, white placemats, fancy napkins, and flowers at every table. This is a linen-finish card from the late 1930s, but earlier 1930s versions of the card on plain cardstock do exist, although they are not as nicely coloured. The photographer was John A. Marshall of Portland.
In a break from the overwhelming "cabin" style tea rooms in the rest of the state, the Mayflower Tea Room and Minerva Restaurant at 570-572 Congress Street, Portland, Maine, was an art deco masterpiece that sported a marbleized vitrolite facade, neon signage, and highly moderne interiors. This linen-finish card dates to the 1940s. The text on the back reads, "Portland's Finest Restaurant and Tea Room. Highest Grade Foods - Homemade Ice Cream. Air Conditioned Throughout, Year Around. Phone 3-6784." The connection between the colonial Mayflower ship and Minerva, the Greek goddess of wisdom, justice, law, and victory is unclear. The tea room interior features a fountain with stools, small tables, and booths at the rear, all upholstered in yellow, while the restaurant is furnished with wooden booths upholstered in dark reddish-brown. The exteriors of the twin establishments are presented door-to-door under the glowing image of helmeted Minerva, and the image of the Mayflower is limited to an emblem on the front of the card, but not on the building. The Tea Room signage offers "Fountain - Ice Cream," and the restaurant signage advertises "Steaks - Chops."
Vassalboro
This real photo postcard depicts the Pine Acres Tourist Cabins and Tea Room in Vassalboro, Maine. Lunch is advertised on a sign and a two-pump gas station is also in evidence. The card was mailed from Fairfield, Maine, to Miss Frances Howard in Franklin Park, Massachusetts, on July 31st, 1933. The hand-written message reads, "We are having a nice time. Stayed in Waterville last night with F's Brother. Got into a very bad thunder and hail storm in Portland. Hail stones large as my thumb. Aunt Leila."
Winthrop
The Fernwood Cottage Tea Room and Souvenir Shop, Winthrop, Maine, where the signage announces "Good Things to Eat" and an American flag is proudly flown. This exterior view is a real-photo postcard made in the 1920s.
Fernwood Cottage Tea Room, Winthrop, Maine, another exterior view from the 1920s on a real-photo postcard, this one featuring the distinguished visitor Col. John C. Coolidge of Plymouth, Vermont, the father of then-President Calvin Coolidge.
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room
Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.
See Also
