Museum Notebook: Wake up, Teasmade

Teasmade - Goblin Ltd, 1970s. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 2015.86

Imagine waking up to a cup of tea made for you by your bedside alarm clock.

One of the most recognisable and iconic images in Queen's music video for "I Want to Break Free" is of Freddie Mercury dressed in a black miniskirt while hoovering rooms in a suburban house.

However, blink and you'll miss it but the opening scene features guitarist Brian May in bed, being woken up by a peculiar-looking device which is in flames.

What is it? A Teasmade.

A British invention which is a classic example of everyday design, a Teasmade is basically an alarm clock and lamp which also makes you a freshly brewed cup of tea when you wake up - all from your bedside. It sounds futuristic but rudimentary versions date back to Victorian times, with streamlined electric versions becoming available in the 1930s. They reached peak popularity in the 1960s and 70s before the rise of home espresso machines relegated them to near obscurity.

How does a Teasmade work? The alarm on the clock is set and, when it sounds, an electric element in an attached kettle switches on to heat the water. Pressure enables the boiling water to decant through a tube in the kettle lid into an adjacent teapot or cup, making the whole unit pivot forward, activating the light and alarm. All resulting in a perfectly brewed, reviving cup of tea.

Born in 1866 in Manchester, electrical engineer Samuel Rowbottom from S. Rowbottom and Co applied for a patent for what he called an Automatic Tea Making Apparatus. His model featured a clockwork alarm clock, gas ring and pilot light. The gas pilot was required to be lit at all times, which made it a safety risk. Later Teasmade models became more practical with electric versions.

The Whanganui Regional Museum's collection features Teasmade models. A 1940s Hawkins Tecal model which runs on voltage 200/250 and has an alarm clock on the front with a light bulb connection on the top. A hot water aluminium kettle plugs into the back of the clock. It is square with a spout on the lid for steam to escape and a black handle. The body of the Teasmade is a cream colour and it has an electric plug and cord attached to the side.

The pictured model is a Goblin Teasmade from the 1970s. It has a white plastic base with two square pads for holding a kettle and a teapot. The kettle is square and made of stainless steel with dimpled sides and a metal tube on top which drips into the teapot. An electric cord at the back of the base plugs into the kettle to heat water. The teapot is square, ceramic and has a round, black fitted lid and a squared handle.

The name Teasmade is an example of a generic trademark, introduced by Goblin Ltd but now commonly used to refer to any automatic tea-making appliance. Perhaps it's time for a revival.

• Kiran Dass is marketing and communications co-ordinator at Whanganui Regional Museum