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Bottle Ticket

late 18th century-19th century (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
Enamel on copper
Brief description
Enamel on copper, Netherlands or France, ca.1800-1900.
Physical description
Bottle ticket (one of set of four) with the word KIRSCH. White enamel on copper with black lettering and border, shaped escutcheon with chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 6.3cm
  • Width: 3.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
KIRSCH
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177
Bequest - P.J. Cropper
per W J Sheldrick
Named after Scheidam, a town in Holland where gin was distilled.
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 objects
Collection
Accession number
M.1487-1944

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Record createdApril 21, 2006
Record URL
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