Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

1805-1806 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The history of bottle tickets provides a fascinating insight into English eating, drinking and personal habits. 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. Their function was to identify the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. These tickets also illustrate in miniature, the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials were enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs in metalware generally. Makers were quick to adapt the many technical advances of the 18th and 19th centuries.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, engraved
Brief description
Silver bottle ticket, London hallmarks for 1805-6, mark of Peter, Ann and William Bateman.
Physical description
Bottle ticket (one of a pair) with the word SHERRY. Silver, shaped and engraved as draped curtains with chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.5in
  • Length: 2in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of PB/AB/WB for the partnership of Peter, Ann and William Bateman.
  • 'SHERRY'
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Subject depicted
Summary
The history of bottle tickets provides a fascinating insight into English eating, drinking and personal habits. 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. Their function was to identify the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. These tickets also illustrate in miniature, the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials were enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs in metalware generally. Makers were quick to adapt the many technical advances of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Associated object
Collection
Accession number
M.465-1944

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Record createdMarch 8, 2005
Record URL
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