Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

1802-1803 (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, London hallmarks for 1802-3, mark of Alexander Field?
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word LISBON. Silver, oblong with rounded ends, engraved with a border of a floral scroll; chain for suspension.
Dimensions
  • Height: 0.875in
  • Length: 1.75in
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1802-3
  • Mark: AF, possibly for Alexander Field.
  • 'LISBON'
Credit line
Given by J. H. Fitzhenry
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.
Collection
Accession number
1269-1903

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Record createdApril 7, 2006
Record URL
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