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Is it Safe to Drink from This Teapot?

Discussion in 'Metalware' started by Jose Garcia, Mar 22, 2025.

  1. Jose Garcia

    Jose Garcia Active Member

    Good morning.
    Can I drink tea from this BASSE & FISCHER PEWTER pewter teapot?


    I washed it with Fairy and poured boiling water in it for a couple of minutes. Is it safe to drink from it?
    IMG_4515.jpeg IMG_4516.jpeg IMG_4517.jpeg IMG_4518.jpeg
     
    johnnycb09 likes this.
  2. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Since it is antique pewter it contains lead, modern pewter doesn't.
    Even washing and boiling doesn't get rid of the lead, it is part of the alloy. So I wouldn't drink from it.
     
    johnnycb09, Lucille.b, Boland and 3 others like this.
  3. mirana

    mirana Well-Known Member

    Agreed with @Any Jewelry. Old pewter is highly unlikely to be safe.
     
  4. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    I found these details about Pewter and Lead from a yesteryear site ages ago.

    Those with money had plates made of pewter.
    Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning & death.
    This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.


    Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.
    Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.
    They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.
    Hence the custom of ''Holding a Wake''
     
    mirana, Jose Garcia, komokwa and 2 others like this.
  5. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    What? D'ya wanna live forever?
    I don't know how acid brewed tea is, but it can't be very aggressive in that old, well used pot.
    Absolutely safe? Probably not. OK now an' then, probably.
     
    Jose Garcia likes this.
  6. Sepia

    Sepia Member

    If it's after the 1890's it'll be fine. I notice its silvering inside is still good. Go ahead and drink.
     
    Jose Garcia and wlwhittier like this.
  7. Jose Garcia

    Jose Garcia Active Member

    I drank a glass of water from the kettle. My head hurt all day, I don't know if it was the placebo effect. But I'd rather not drink from it again. :clown:
     
    all_fakes and mirana like this.
  8. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    Play it safe and not use it.
     
    Jose Garcia likes this.
  9. terry5732

    terry5732 Well-Known Member

    The water lines of Rome were made of lead
    Most water lines in Europe were made of lead prior to WWI
    No one was harmed by drinking water
     
    Jose Garcia likes this.
  10. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    how the hell would you even know that for sure !!!!!!!!!!!:meh:
     
    Jose Garcia and mirana like this.
  11. mirana

    mirana Well-Known Member

    ....Flint, Michigan. Corrosion of metals with lead is a bad thing.

    In any case, I wouldn't wing it with using a teapot vs brain damage. :playful:
     
    Jose Garcia and komokwa like this.
  12. Bev aka thelmasstuff

    Bev aka thelmasstuff Colored pencil artist extraordinaire ;)

    In history class I was told that the Roman elite used lead cookware and it killed a lot of them. That was about a hundred years ago so the facts may have changed since then! Seriously, it was 66 years ago so that's "almost" 100. :)
     
    mirana and Jose Garcia like this.
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