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I am not exactly the best source of information about the entire history of Red Rose but with the help of others I can give it a try. One thing I have learned for
certain is that in one part of the country, they may have been doing tea cards while in another, they may have been doing Wades. If someone visiting this site sees
any inaccuracies, please let me know. You may not see inaccuracies, just huge gaps in time. I'll gladly make the adjustments and give credit where credit is due.
A former Red Rose Tea of Canada president and cofounder of Redco has offered his recollections here, thank you John Rigg. And of course Mike Posgay, Ian Warner,
the Red Rose Canada website, and me.
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Canada
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Time Span
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What Happened...
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October 16, 1899
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Red Rose trademark was officially registered by the T.H. Estabrooks company, out of St. John. |
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1901
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Red Rose coffee appears. |
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1929
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Estabrooks introduced tea bags. |
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April 29th, 1931
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On this date, 4300 shares of T. H., Estabrooks is sold to Brooke Bond. (Theodore Estabrooks is great friends with
the Chairman at Brooke Bond).
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1946
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Following the Second World War, Brooke Bond establishes Brooke Bond Canada to expand business. The tea packing
plant was located on Park Avenue in Montreal.
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1959 to 1974
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In the late 50's, Brooke Bond owns Red Rose. They issue tea cards from 1959 to 1974. |
| 1962 |
Production is moved to Côte de Liesse in Montreal and the Park Avenue plant was sold. |
| 1967 to 1973 |
32 different Wade animals appear in Red Rose Tea. |
| 1971 to 1979 |
24 different Wade nursery rhymes appear in Red Rose Tea. |
| 1981 |
15 different Wade Whoppas (mail in promotion) appear in Red Rose Tea. |
| 1982 to 1984 |
23 different Wade animals appear in Red Rose Tea. |
| 1984 |
Unilever acquires Brooke Bond. |
| 1985 |
June - Lipton takes over Red Rose from Brooke Bond (Canada only). |
| 15 new Wade animals appear in Red Rose Tea. |
| 1988 |
Salada Foods was acquired by Redco in June 1988 in both the US and Canada. |
| 1990 |
Red Rose (Lipton) reissues the series 15 "Animals and Their Young" tea cards but there is no series number. |
| The Canadian Salada business was sold to Unilever (Canada). |
| 1991 |
Red Rose makes plans to reissue the series 5 "Dinosaurs" but for a reason unknown, cancels the program before any are issued.
(Several sets and many singles still make it to collectors hands). |
| 1997? |
Red Rose issues 8 different china 'teapots' in a new series (stoves). |
| 1998? |
Red Rose issues a new set of 8 china 'teapots' (buildings). |
| 1999? |
Red Rose issues a new set of 8 china 'teapots' (toys). |
| 2000 to present |
Red Rose issues a new set of 8 china 'teapots' (millennium series). |
Sources: My own recollections, "The World of Wade" and "The World of Wade Book 2", both books by Ian Warner and Mike Posgay,
Red Rose of Canada website and John Rigg.
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United States
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Time Span
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What Happened...
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| 1960 to 1969 |
From 1960 to 1969, Red Rose (owned by Brooke Bond) issues tea cards in the US. |
| 1983 to 1985 |
15 different Wade animals appear in US Red Rose Tea. |
| 1985 |
15 new Wade animals appear in US Red Rose Tea. |
| 1988 |
John Edwards (former President of Brooke Bond in the US) and John Rigg (former President of Brooke Bond in Canada) found
Redco and commence business in November in Hauppauge, NY. |
| Salada Foods was acquired by Redco in June 1988 in both the US and Canada. |
| Tragically, John Edwards died one month later and John Rigg became sole owner. |
| February 17, 1990 |
On this date, Redco buys Red Rose from Unilever - Brooke Bond. They keep the plant in in Windsor Connecticut.
The Canadian Salada business was sold to Unilever (Canada). |
| 1990 |
Five more animals added to US Wade set making 20. |
| 1993 |
10 new circus Wades are introduced in the US. |
| February 1995 |
Redco US business is sold to Teekanne GmbH. |
| 1996 |
5 more circus pieces are added in the US. |
| 1999 |
Set of 10 Endangered Species Wades are issued. |
| July 2002 |
Redco opens website on the Wade figurines. http://www.redrosetea.com |
| 2002 |
Set of 15 Noah's Ark Series Wades are issued |
| 2012 |
Set of 12 Nautical Wonderland Series Wades are issued |
| 2016 |
Set of 10 American Heritage Series Wades are issued |
| 2020 |
Set of 10 World Monument Series Wades are issued |
| December 2022 |
Wade Ceramics closes for good. No more Wade figurines to be made. |
| 2024 to the Present |
Red Rose US still gives out Wades for online purchases. |
Sources: My own recollections, "The World of Wade" and "The World of Wade Book 2", both books by Ian Warner and Mike Posgay,
Red Rose of Canada website and John Rigg.
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