The case of the traveling tea case

When I was a budding twentysomething hipster, I thought I was too cool for cooking school when I acquired a portable bar. You can find these in antique shops all the time now — it's a splendid vintage leather case, like a bulky, hard briefcase, and contains slots inside for two bottles, as well as a pair of small cups, a bottle opener tool, cocktail spoon and strainer. The eyes must have seriously rolled as I strutted into the party and set up my own mixology post.

Now that I covet tea paraphernalia, I'm drooling over this 1920s tea case...



This article about a later reproduction of the case -- which, alas, does not indicate where you could buy such an item -- explains:

In 1930, Louis Vuitton delivered its version of this tea case, an elegant and practical piece designed to be compact and yet easy to remove and use. The case contains cups, pots and all the other paraphernalia for a proper cup of tea on the road. While path-breaking at the time, today the piece is easy to identify with. It has the economy of space and packaging that is often seen in modern luggage, consumer electronics and even architecture.

Here's a promotional video from Vuitton giving a little background for the case's creation ...