Antique silver — the most interesting small collectibles in London

Click on
Thumbnails
below

Description — clicking on underlined text brings up extra full size images of each piece

Stock number

A cast wine label with integral crest engraved for HOCK, by Isaac Cookson of Newcastle (d. 1754), crested for FENWICK .
Price:

This label is described as follows in Wine Labels 1730-2003 (2004)- p. 224:
"Mid-eighteenth century cast designs are rare [in Newcastle], but not unknown. Isaac Cookson made a version of the two putti design (see fig. 744 HOCK by Isaac Cookson circa 1745) incorporating, top centre, a crest of a phoenix in flames , 'murally gorged'. This is the crest of the Fenwick family , which had several branches in the surrounding counties of Northumberland and Durham. As with all armorial labels, these labels would have to have been made to a private commission and were probably in a set of six".

This label was exhbited at the Wine Label Circle in 2003 while the BURGUNDY from the set is mentioned in the Society's Journal in 1954, the CLARET in 1957. PORT, CHAMPAGNE and another (unspecified) were referred to in 1976.

A George IV Britannia standard wine label with threaded border engraved for MADEIRA, by George Knight London 1825 .
Price: £750.00

A Britannia standard Sherry label of the same year by the same maker, but with canted corners rather than rounded ends, is referred to in Wine Labels 1730-2003 on page 135. At the time of publication that label (along with a sauce label by William Knight of 1831) were the only recorded examples of a pre Victorian Britannia standard wine label . The Sherry label is in a private collection and once formed part of the collections of Sir Thomas Barlow and later that of Tony Cowdry.

A William IV wine label embossed with agriculural motifs and the word 'Free' stamped twice forming a motto (all of which relate to the Free Trade movement) and pierced for BUCELLAS made c. 1835 and stamped Mordan on the reverse for Sampson Mordan and Company.

Price: £575.00

The Free Trade Movement formed the main opposition to the controversial Corn laws enacted by British Governments that imposied tariffs on imported cereals and staple foods from 1815 onwards before being repealed in 1846. These laws protected the agricultural land owners but were unpopular with an increasingly urban population, as well as many others. In 1846 Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel managed to repeal the Corn laws, with help from the Whig opposition, but in doing so caused a split in his own party.

Bucellas is a Portuguese wine region located south of the Arruda Valley. The majority of the wine produced was white and the Duke of Wellington, having taken a liking to it during the Peninsular War, did much to popularise it.

A George IV rectangular wine label, with canted corners and a threaded border, engraved for SHERRY by John Townsend of the Cape of Good Hope (active 1824-1846) circa 1830.
Price:

Stephen Welz comments in his Cape Silver (1976) comments that 'Cape silver wine labels are rare' and Wine Labels 1730-2003 (2004) continues that the vast majority of labels were made by British silversmiths in the Cape and that 'the demand for wine labels was apparently never very great'.

John Townsend arrived in the Cape of Good Hope in 1824 and is recorded as a goldsmith and jeweller at a number of addresses between 1824 and 1846.

A George III escutcheon-shaped wine label for CLARET, by Samuel Teare of Dublin circa 1755, initialled {BE}
Price: £495.00

A wine label for CALCAVELLA of similar shape and threaded border by this maker is in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland and is illustrated on page 129 of 500 years of Irish silver by Ida Delamer and Conor O'Brien (2005) as figure 23.23.

A set of three octagonal George III wine labels with canted corners made in Edinburgh circa 1815 by George McHattie- each is engraved and enamelled with a single letter: L (for Lisbon), M (for Madeira) and S (for Sherry).
Price: £495.00

A Victorian shaped rectangular wine label with Feather-edged border engraved for MADEIRA, by Rawlings and Summers London 1854 , crested for the Goldsmiths' Company. .
Price: £475.00

The Goldsmiths' Company of London received its Royal charter in 1327, making it the 5th Livery Company to be established. It oversees the hallmarking (a term derived from the marks being struck at Goldsmiths' Hall) of all items of precious metal marked in London.

The first labels of this design were commissioned by the Company from Margaret Binley in around 1770 and they continued to commission very similar labels until 1854. This label was one of six recorded in the catalogue of the Company silver (privately published in 1926) bought from Rawlings and Summers in 1854 (all for MADEIRA). In 1970 the Goldsmiths' Company sold 46 of the 96 labels they had purchased.

A George III shaped rectangular wine label with Feather-edged border engraved for MADEIRA, by Phipps and Phipps London 1820, crested for the Goldsmiths' Company. .
Price: £475.00

The Goldsmiths' Company of London received its Royal charter in 1327, making it the 5th Livery Company to be established. It oversees the hallmarking (a term derived from the marks being struck at Goldsmiths' Hall) of all items of precious metal marked in London.

The first labels of this design were commissioned by the Company from Margaret Binley in around 1770 and they continued to commission very similar labels until 1854. This label was one of six recorded in the catalogue of the Company silver (privately published in 1926) bought from Phipps and Phipps in 1820 (all for MADEIRA). In 1970 the Goldsmiths' Company sold 46 of the 96 labels they had purchased.

A George II escutcheon shaped wine label engraved for PORT made in Newcastle c. 1750 by Isaac Cookson (d. 1754).
Price: £450.00

A crescent wine label engraved for PORT, Chester circa 1780 by Joseph Walley of Liverpool.
Price: £425.00

A pair of Victorian thread-edge wine labels engraved for MARASCHINO and CURACOA, by Yapp and Woodward Birmingham 1854 .
Price: £395.00

A George III bottle collar with gadrooned border pierced for PORT on both sides made in London in 1817 by Samuel Knight.

Price: £395.00

A George III escutcheon shaped wine label with flat chased decoration engraved for SHERRY, made in Dublin between 1809 and 1820 by John Townsend (retailed by [Matthew] West).
Price: £375.00

Douglas Bennett, in his two books on Irish silver (1972 and 1984), records three retailer's marks for the firm of Matthew West (M W, M. West, M. West beneath a crown) but not the one found on this wine label.

A George III rectangular wine label with gadrooned border and stylised acanthus cresting engraved for MADEIRA made in Exeter in 1817 by Emmanuel Levy.
Price: £365.00

Emmanuel Levy of Exeter was a pawnbroker, jeweller and silversmith and was active between 1807 and 1818. His business was then taken over by his son, Simon, who worked until 1832. According to the records of the Exeter assay office Emmanuel assayed 14 wine labels during his working life but at the time of publication of Wine Labels 1730-2003 (2004) none by Levy were recorded in collections and none have been referred to in the Wine Label Circle Journal.

A George II escutcheon shaped wine label engraved for WHITE WINE made in London circa 1755 by Sandilands Drinkwater, initialled {SF}.
Price: £365.00

A pair of George III wine labels of faceted crescent form with threaded borders engraved for PORT and SHERRY made in Edinburgh circa 1800 by William Auld.
Price:

A similar label engraved for GIN by this maker can be found on page 255 of Wine Labels 1730-2003.

A pair of George III sauce labels with rounded ends engraved for ANCHOVY and SOY, made in London circa 1800 by John Rich.
Price: £350.00

A set of four Elizabeth II wine labels with feather-edge borders engraved for PORT, SHERRY, BRANDY and WHISKY made in Sheffield in 2009 by Arthur Holder.

Price: £345.00

Arthur 'Pat' Holder (1918-2016) joined the Wine Label Circle in 1992 was an enthusiastic member of the Circle and regular contributor to the Journal. Arthur had a formidable collection of antique examples, subsequently sold at auction, but was also, in his retirement, a keen silversmith. In the obituary to Holder in the Wine Label Circle Journal the author recalled that 'around 30 years ago {c. 1986}, Pat had joined a silversmithing course at Chesterfield Technical College, when he must have been past the normal retirement age, and continued to attend until last year {2015}. His work was extremely good, wine labels of course but he particularly enjoyed raising bowls and making finely pierced Fish Slices'. At the 2010 Annual General Meeting he displayed a number of the pieces he had made including 'some fine modern labels'- quite possibly including this set and he illustrated this Port in the Wine Label Circle Journal that year.

A George III rectangular wine label with canted corners and a bright-cut border engraved for MADEIRA, by Robert Jones of Liverpool circa 1790 .
Price: £345.00

This label, or one very similar to it, is illustrated as label number 698 on page 202 of Wine Labels 1730-2003 (2003).

A George III wine label with thread-edge border engraved for WHITE WINE, by IW of Chester (John Walker of Chester or Joseph Walley of Liverpool) , c. 1800.
Price: £335.00

Labels by Joseph Walley of Liverpool (d. 1801) are recorded. If it is by him the shape would suggest that it was a late example of his work.

The other candidate for this mark is John Walker of Chester. He was the son of George Walker I of Chester and was born in 1782. John was made a member of the Goldsmiths' Company of Chester in 1808, having been apprenticed to his father, and succeeded his father as Assay Master on the latters death in 1809 (although he did not swear the oath of that office until 1819). In 1825 Walker described himself as Secretary (as well as Assay Master) and in 1834 he was admitted to the Company again 'according to ancient use and custom'.

In 1840 he appears to have ceased his activities with the Goldsmiths' Company of Chester in the wider disgrace of his family. It certainly seems dubious for the son of the Assay Master (if this label were 1808-1809) or the Assay Master himself, if this label were made after 1809, to be avoiding assaying charges. John Walker is only known to have assayed four labels in his career and the whereabouts of these are currently unknown.

A pair of Victorian sauce label sized wine labels with threaded borders engraved for RUM and BRANDY made in London in 1856 by Charles Rawlings and William Summers.
Price: £325.00

A George IV rectangular wine label with canted corners and a threaded border pierced for CHERRY BRANDY made in London in 1825 by Charles Reily.
Price: £325.00

The first record of a Cherry Brandy label in the Wine Label Circle Journal is in Volume 1 number 5 issued in August 1953 when the name was ordered to be engraved on one of the Coronation commemorative labels. Georgian Cherry Brandy labels are recorded and an early reference to it is in The Tatler for December 19th-December 21st 1710. The diaries of Joseph Farington (1747-1821) include a reference to Cherry Brandy being served at a dinner he attended on 23rd September 1800 at the home of Mr. Bell, a wine merchant. There it was served with other liquours at the end of dinner but before the fruit was served. Farington notes that this was 'a Scottish custom and the ladies partake of it'.

A George III Rectangular sauce label with a threaded border engraved for CHILI VINEGAR made in Edinburgh in 1817 by George McHattie.
Price: £325.00

A George III crescent shaped wine label with beaded borders engraved MADERE, unmarked circa 1780 .
Price: £325.00

According to the Journal of the Wine Label Circle (founded 1952) this unusual variant of the name Madeira appears to be unrecorded on silver labels- apparently only on ceramic examples.

An oval reeded wine label engraved for SHERRY, by Williams Brothers Exeter 1853
Price: £295.00

This label was once part of the Warde-Aldam family silver at Hooton Pagnell, Yorkshire. It is one of only 33 assayed by the Williams Brothers at Exeter and must be one of the earliest of their labels assayed there -- Exeter Assay Office records only show their labels from 1854 onwards.

A Victorian circular wine label with a threaded border engraved for SHERRY made in London in 1846 by George Frederick Pinnel, initialled {W}.

Price: £295.00

A wine label with threaded border pierced for CHAMPAGNE, by Thomas Phipps and Edward Robinson London 1806.
Price: £295.00

A George II/III Old Sheffield Plate brandy saucepan with turned wood handle, circa 1760.
Price:

Gordon Crosskey in his Old Sheffield Plate- A History of the 18th Century Plated Trade (2011) comments that the 'first articles of domestic plated ware (as opposed to boxes, buttons, buckles etc) introduced to the market appear to have been saucepans'. These seem to have started in the late 1750s, examples being found marked by Joseph Hancock, and an example of around 1760 by Tudor is recorded. In 1769 the Reverend John Birch wrote to Matthew Boulton that 'Mrs. Boulton shewed us a little plated saucepan' on a recent visit to the Soho works. By the 1770s saucepans appeared in the pattern book produced by Tudor and Leader and in the list of wares produced by Joseph Wilson in 1772. Althought they are known to have been produced by several firms Crosskey goes on to write that 'Plated saucepans are extremely rare items. They were produced by various firms throughout the period of fused plate production. Today, virtually the only surviving examples seem to be those made by Hancock.'

A small bottle stand mounted on a wooden base, by Robert Hennell London 1832, crested for the GORDON family, baronets of Niton.
Price: £275.00

Sir James Willoughby Gordon (1772-1851) became Quartermaster General under the Duke of Wellington in 1812 and held the post until 1851, as well as being MP for Launceston 1829-1831.

A Victorian escutcheon shaped wine label with the background of the letters pierced out for MADEIRA, by Charles Rawlings and William Summers London 1853 .
Price: £265.00

A George III wine label with threaded border engraved for CHAMPAIGN made in London in 1811 by James Atkins.
Price: £265.00

A Victorian sauce label with a threaded border pierced for ANCHOVY made in London in 1844 by Charles Rawlings and William Summers.
Price: £250.00

A George III sauce label with a threaded border engraved for ANCHOVY made in London in 1803 by John Whittingham.
Price: £245.00

A George III sauce label with a threaded border engraved for SOY made in London circa 1790 by James Hyde.
Price: £245.00

A Victorian wine label with threaded border engraved MADEIRA, Rawlings and Summers London 1837, crested for Philip Yorke Gore, 4th Earl of Arran (1801-1884) .
Price: £245.00

Philip Yorke Gore (1801-1884) inherited the Earldom of Arran from his uncle in 1837. Prior to this point he had a diplomatic career starting with his appointment as Attache to the British legation in Stockholm before being transferred to Paris in 1825 and Lisbon in 1826. From 1827-1837 Gore was Secretary to the Legation in Buenos Aires (where he was also Charge D'Affaires from 1832-1834). In 1838 Gore, now Earl of Arran, married Elizabeth Napier (d. 1899). Elizabeth was the daughter of the historian of the Peninsular war General Sir Francis Napier (1785-1860) and had the second Duke of Richmond as both her maternal and paternal grandfather (making her also a great, great grand daughter of Charles II).

A George III wine label engraved for PORT with chased border, by Barber and Whitwell York circa 1820 .
Price: £245.00

A small number of labels in this design are recorded (see figure 762 in 'Wine Labels 1730-2003') and another PORT formed part of lot 166 in the Woolley and Wallis silver sale on 16th April 2019). On 30th May 1820, the York Assay Office book records Barber and Whitwell submitting wine labels (among other things) but they were detailed as: '6 Chased labels [and] 24 Shelled labels'. One might suggest that this label is one of the ' 6 Chased' examples.

An Old Sheffield Plate wine coaster with japanned base and border pierced with Prince of Wales Feathers, circa 1790 .
Price: £240.00

A coaster of very similar design to the body of this one can be seen in figure 334a of Gordon Crosskey's Old Sheffield Plate: A history of the 18th century plated trade (2011). The japanned base, described as 'very rare' on page 280 of that book, a set with these bases shown in figure 333.

A rectangular George IV wine label with canted corners and threaded borders engraved for BARSAC made in London in 1821 by John Reily.
Price: £235.00

Barsac is a sweet white wine from the commune of that name which adjoins the Sauterne region.

A George V rectangular wine label with threaded border and integral cartouche engraved for BRANDY, by Levi and Salaman Birmingham 1911 (Britannia standard), crested with a hand holding a dagger .
Price: £225.00

It is rare to find wine labels made in Britannia standard silver (95.8% silver as opposed to Sterling which is 92.5%). The higher standard was compulsory from 1697-1720 and remained an option after that. The authors of Wine Labels 1730-2003 were only able to find two nineteenth century examples assayed in London (one wine label and one sauce label). In the late nineteenth century there was a resurgence of interest in the use of this standard but the majority of pieces seen bear London hallmarks.

A boudoir label engraved GLYCERINE, by William Jones London 1859 .
Price:

A George III rectangular wine label with threaded border pierced for WHITE [wine] by W.H (attributable to William How of London) circa 1770.
Price: £220.00

A George III rectangular wine label with canted corners and a threaded border engraved and enamelled for W[hite] WINE made in London in 1814 by Peter and William Bateman.
Price: £220.00

A George III wine label with shell and scroll border pierced for SHERRY, by John Reily London 1816, crested for Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (1773-1840).
Price:

Henry Fox (later Vassall-Fox) (1773-1840), was 3rd Baron Holland from 1774. He was descended from Charles II (via the Dukes of Richmond) and inherited his title when just over a year old. His was a strongly Whig family with his uncle being the orator Charles James Fox. Baron Holland himself was described as 'rather the Whig party itself than its leader'. As a result of his firmly held Whig principles, Holland held few Government offices — he served as Lord Privy Seal in the brief 'Ministry of All The Talents' that followed the death of William Pitt the Younger in 1806, and then as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1830-1834 and 1835-1840. In 1797 he married the recently divorced Elizabeth, Lady Webster, daughter of Richard Vassall of Jamaica (after paying £6000 in damages to Webster for 'criminal conversation' with his wife, which led to the birth of the future archaeologist (and General) Charles Richard Fox).

A Victorian wine label with vine border engraved for IRISH WHISKEY made in Birmingham in 1876 but carrying the retailer's mark of Duff and Millar of Glasgow.
Price: £210.00

A George III cast wine label of vine leaf design pierced for MADEIRA made in London in 1812 by John Reily.
Price:

A George IV wine label with impressed border engraved for RUM made in Birmingham in 1829 by Ledsam, Vale and Wheeler.
Price: £195.00

A George III sauce label with a threaded border pierced for READING, unmarked circa 1800.
Price: £195.00

Reading sauce is believed to have been invented by James Cocks, a fishmonger of Reading, in the late 18th century. It was originally a dissolved fish sauce but Mrs. Beaton's recipe included: walnut pickle, shallots, spring water, Indian soy, ginger, pepper (both long and Cayenne), anchovies and bay leaves. The sauce was referred to by Jules Verne in Around the world in 80 days (where Mr. Fogg has it as part of his breakfast) and a variation made by Harvey's was referred to by Lewis Carroll in his Poeta fit non nascitur. Commercial production of this sauce ceased in 1962.

A Victorian sauce label with threaded border engraved for SOY made in London circa 1890 by William Summers.
Price: £195.00

A Victorian sauce label with a threaded border engraved for ANCHOVY made in London in 1855 by Rawlings and Summers.
Price: £195.00

A Victorian wine label in the form of a Gothic letter P (for PORT), by Marshall and Sons Edinburgh circa 1860 .
Price: £170.00

It is interesting to note that Silver Plated labels were also produced inthis design - an example of which is our stock number 6508.

A George III sauce label with threaded border engraved for KYAN made in London circa 1790 by Phipps and Robinson.
Price: £165.00

An enamel wine label named for HOCK, late eighteenth-nineteenth century.
Price: £165.00

A George III Old Sheffield Plate wine coaster with pierced sides, circa 1800.
Price: £165.00

A George III rectangular wine label with wriggle-work borders pierced for TENERIFFE, unmarked circa 1780.

Price:

A George III wine label in the form of a letter C with chased decoration made in Edinburgh circa 1820 by A. G. Wigton .
Price: £155.00

A George III wine label with canted corners and threaded borders pierced for SWEET WINE, unmarked circa 1800, initialled {EMD}.

Price:

A George III wine label with threaded border engraved for HOCK made in London in 1811 by James Atkins.
Price: £135.00

A rectangular label with cut corners engraved BRANDY by Joseph Angell, London 1813.
Price: £120.00

A George III hump-top wine label, pierced as a sunburst and engraved for PORT, unmarked circa 1790 .
Price: £110.00

This label is illustrated in Wine Labels 1730-2003 (ed. John Salter, 2004) as figure 155 on p. 52.

A George III rectangular wine label with canted corners and a threaded border pierced for MADEIRA made in London in 1814 Thomas Phipps, Edward Robinson and James Phipps.
Price:

A George III rectangular wine label with canted corners and a threaded border pierced for SHERRY made in London in 1814 by Thomas Phipps, Edward Robinson and James Phipps.
Price:

A George III wine label with threaded border engraved for CLARET made in London in 1811 by James Atkins.
Price: £75.00

A pair of George III crescent shaped Old Sheffield Plate wine labels for MADEIRA and SHERRY, circa 1790.
Price:

A George III wine label with threaded border engraved for MADEIRA made in London in 1811 by James Atkins.
Price: £65.00