Early Life

Nathaniel “Nat” Litt was born in Brighton Beach, New York, on March 16, 1932, to Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants.

Nat had big dreams to be an architect so it is in New York that he attended the illustrious Ivy, Columbia University, and Pratt University. Through his education, he came to apprentice under the tutelage of architectural legend, Frank Lloyd Wright, studying at Wright’s schools in Arizona and Wisconsin. Through that apprenticeship and education, he became an architect in his own right until the blueprint of his life took a different shape.

A Pivot Point:
From Designing Buildings to Amusing Audiences

After 10 years as an architect, the trajectory of Nat’s career and life changed dramatically when he was involved in a horrific traffic accident in 1969. The accident had claimed 7 lives, and he, though badly injured, was the only survivor.

In these dark times, he turned to a long-time comfort: clowning. During his recovery in the hospital, he came to learn about the Ringling Brothers starting a clown college in Florida. He jumped at the opportunity and went down to South to chase this “funny” feeling. He was among the first cohort to graduate in 1970 and upon graduation, he and his fellow clown companions were awarded a contract with Ringling. It was then that his career got a brand new start and a new face, complete with a red nose, which featured on the cover of Life magazine in February 1970.

The Two Sides of Nathaniel Litt:
Funny Business and Business Acumen

He toured with Ringling and Barnum & Bailey for years until he formed his own troupe, Nat Litt’s All-Star Clown Revue. It was with these various troupes that he went to perform across the country and even internationally, with stints in Bulgaria, Mexico, Russia, and France. Eventually, he settled in Haddonfield, NJ, with the rest of his family. While in NJ, he ran a craft and hobby store out of the Cherry Hill Mall, one of his first forays into small business ownership. He also founded a magic shop, which he ran out of Center City, Philadelphia, for 10 years.

While he was a talented businessman, he was also a lifelong creative, developing a love for decoupage and confectionary. He and his wife produced their own brand of jams and jellies, which they sold out of Reading Terminal Market. As is par for the course for Nat, his fondness for confection drove him to enroll in the Culinary Institute, where he graduated with accolades.

Wanting to fine tune his skills for pastry, he went onto study and graduate from the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu, in France. It was while he was in school there that he discovered the world of tea salons.

A Taste for Excellence:
The House of Tea is Born and Lives On

With his discovery of tea salons, Nat became deeply enamored with tea. He traveled the world, seeking out the best sources for tea. As he had done with his previous careers and passions, he looked to share his love of tea with others. This impulse drove him to open the House of Tea in Queen Village, Philadelphia, in 1991, which he ran until his death.

He died peacefully next to his beloved wife, Margaret Litt, on September 30, 1997.

In January 1998, his daughter, Jessica, took over the store and ran it as a brick and mortar for decades until it eventually went fully virtual, where it continues to meet the demands of tea lovers, offering hundreds of varieties.

Nathaniel Litt’s legacy continues on in the business and the people whose lives he touched with his many stories.

Fittingly, his gravestone reads, “His life was filled with endless wonder” — it is that wonder that motivated him to follow his whims, an apt reminder to all that we should pursue the pleasures of life, like a good cup of tea. ■