Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

ca. 1750 (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. The word Bronte on this label is on a strip of silver that was added at a later date. 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.

These tickets also illustrate, in miniature, the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials was enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Engraved silver
Brief description
Silver, mark of Sandylands Drinkwater, no hallmarks, London, ca.1750
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word BRONTE (on a strip of silver superimposed at a later date). Silver, fancy escutcheon engraved with apples and chain attached. Could the original word have been CYDER as the decoration of apples is unusual?
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.25in
  • Length: 2.125in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of Sandylands Drinkwater
  • No hallmarks
  • BRONTE
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. The word Bronte on this label is on a strip of silver that was added at a later date. 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.

These tickets also illustrate, in miniature, the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials was enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
M.713-1944

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Record createdDecember 24, 2004
Record URL
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