THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. SOFTCOVER, 751 PAGES. LARGE BOOK. (B44)

$$$$$ IMPERIAL RUSSIAN SAMOVAR.EXTREMELY RARE FIND.PRE 1917.EXCELLENT CONDITION FOR IT'S AGE. $$$$$

MADE IN TULA BY VORONCOV. HEIGHT 63cm x GREATEST WIDTH 35cm.

Russian Samovar History: Samovar is a purely Russian invention. It is used for making tea. In the 17th century tea was delivered to Russia from the territory of West Mongolia and it was used as medicine among the nobility. Tea was a competitor of 'sbiten', the most favourite drink in Russia back then. Its components were: hot water, medicinal herbs and honey.In the 18th century in the Urals and Tula samovar-kitchens were invented. They were divided into three parts - two of them devoted to meals cooking, and the third one wholly devoted to tea-making. Sbitennik and samovar-kitchen were samovar prototypes.There were different ways of manufacturing the first samovars. Samovars were produced in the Urals, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Tula; and later in Vladimirskaya, Yaroslavskaya and Vyatskaya provinces. The first samovar factory was founded in Tula by Nasar Usitsin in 1778. This town of gunsmiths became famous throughout the world as the center of samovar manufacture. Tula had everything that was needed for such industry: rich ore mines, highly qualified masters skilled in working metals and location (Tula is situated only 200 kilometres south of Moscow).Samovar manufacture soon became to be very profitable. Handicraftsmen were quickly turning into manufacturers; workshops were transformed into samovar manufactures. In 1826 there were only eight samovar factories, whereas in 1896 there were already seventy.
Samovars were made out of cupronickel, red and green copper, pinchbeck, and in special cases - out of silver. Some samovars were plated with gold or silver, but brass was always the basic metal. In the course of the centuries samovar shapes changed. By the end of the 19th century the number of samovar types reached 165. Yet, it was almost impossible to fully mechanize the samovars manufacture. Tools used for samovar making were not changing and by hand assembly allowed for only five-six samovars to be produced per day.The highest peak of samovar manufacture in Tula was reached in the 80s of the 19th century.