Interior View of the Oriental Tea Co.’s Store, 85, 87 & 89 Court Street, Boston.

Boston: W. H. Getchell, 375 Washington St., [ca. 1875]. Stereoview, 2.6” x 6.25”, plus mount. CONDITION: Strong tonality, lower part of title partially effaced, and a tiny bit of discoloration at middle of image.

A fascinating interior view of the Oriental Tea Company shop in Boston, showing its long counters, scales, wallpaper, cabinets decorated with dragons, etc.

Boston’s Oriental Tea Company was established around 1868 and operated into the twentieth century, the firm advertising itself as “Sole importers of Oriental Male Berry Java, best coffee known. Teas and coffees to suit every purse and every taste retailed at wholesale prices. Goods always uniform, always pure. Extra choice goods a specialty” (Boston Evening Transcript, 10 March 1894).

The company’s Giant Steaming Tea Kettle trade sign has been a Boston landmark since 1873 when it was hung over the firm’s door at 57 Court St. In 1875, the teashop held a contest to determine how much tea the kettle might hold. The answer: 227 gallons, two quarts, one pint and three gills. The winner was awarded a chest of premium tea. The tea kettle sign was relocated to its current location on the Sears Crescent building in 1967.

Born in Hallowell, Maine, photographer William Henry Getchell (1829–1910) was mainly active in the Boston area, where, in 1861, he photographed Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the early 1860s, Getchell worked with George M. Silsbee and John G. Case as Silsbee, Case & Co., and again with Case as Case & Getchell, from about 1862 to 1864. He also operated a solo photography studio in the 1860s and ‘70s. Getchell was living in Dorchester in 1898 and died in Boston in 1910.

REFERENCES: Steaming Kettle at lonelyplanet.com; Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, 10 March 1894).