Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 67, The Whiteley Galleries

Bottle Ticket

1824-1825 (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
Brief description
Bottle ticket, silver, Birmingham hallmarks for 1824-1825, mark of Joseph Willmore.
Physical description
Bottle ticket (sauce label) with the words 'CHILI VINEGAR'. Silver, kidney shaped, the inscriptions engraved within a double line border; chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Height: 0.5625in
  • Length: 1.375in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Birmingham hallmarks for 1824-5
  • Mark of Joseph Willmore
  • CHILI VINEGAR
Gallery label
"CHILI VINEGAR" Birmingham, 1823-4 Mark of Joseph Willmore J.H.Fitzhenry Gift 1272-1903(2000)
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.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
1272-1903

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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