Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

ca. 1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This ticket would have hung round the neck of a bottle of gin. Contemporary gazettes begin to refer to ‘labels for bottles’ in the 1770s but it was not until the 1790s that they were established as wine or decanter labels.

This example is made of electroplated nickel silver. In this process the nickel base has been coated with a thin layer of silver deposited onto it by electrolysis. The British firm Elkington & Co. pioneered the electroplating technique in the 1830s and by the 1840s it rapidly replaced Sheffield plate.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Electroplated nickel silver
Brief description
Electroplate, Birmingham, marks of John Gilbert
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word GIN. Electroplated nickel silver, oval, with repousse border of scrollwork and chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.5in
  • Length: 2.5in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Marks for John Gilbert, Birmingham
  • GIN
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Subject depicted
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This ticket would have hung round the neck of a bottle of gin. Contemporary gazettes begin to refer to ‘labels for bottles’ in the 1770s but it was not until the 1790s that they were established as wine or decanter labels.

This example is made of electroplated nickel silver. In this process the nickel base has been coated with a thin layer of silver deposited onto it by electrolysis. The British firm Elkington & Co. pioneered the electroplating technique in the 1830s and by the 1840s it rapidly replaced Sheffield plate.
Collection
Accession number
M.333-1944

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Record createdDecember 20, 2004
Record URL
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