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Antique Sealed Bottles 1640–1900 and the Families that Owned Them

Three volumes

David Burton

In his comprehensive survey, collector David Burton brings together a definitive list of British manufactured sealed bottles with social and genealogical history. The first of the well-illustrated volumes explores the changing style of bottles, the context in which they were made and the significance of the West Country, Wales and North American colonies. Volumes two and three detail almost 5,000 bottles and fragmentary seals, including provenance and sale details, undated examples and what can be learned even from detached crests and coats of arms.

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RRP £250.00

£126.00

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Product information:
  • Publisher: ACC
  • Year: 2015
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 1750pp
  • Illustrated: Yes
  • Dimensions: 320x254mm
  • ISBN: 9781851497553
  • Condition: New
  • Weight: 12kg
Product code:
529820
Product information
Full publisher description
Time in a bottle; this is a collection that explores the unlocking of history through the identification of its unique seals, using crests and coats-of-arms as the 'keys' towards identifying the original owner. This three-volume collection examines the evolution of the sealed bottle from the 1640s to the late 1800s and provides a detailed description to accompany each entry, supported by numerous photographs, including the number of examples known, their condition, and the collections where the bottles and detached seals are held. The laying down of wine to improve its quality and longevity related to the social history of the day, the design of the bottles, their evolution and manufacture, are a reflection of the individuals who ordered and used the bottles at home or in the private gentlemen's clubs, much influenced by the historic events of the 17th through to the 20th centuries. Wine consumption has a place in cultural history; these collected bottles existed at times of incredible upheaval and social change.
From the early colonial settlements of the New World, into the slave markets of Richmond, VA, New Orleans, Charleston, SC, and Philadelphia, and with the plantation owners who amassed vast wealth and prestige as a result of this trade. In the taverns and coffee houses of London, alongside the bear baiting and cock fighting to be found across the River Thames in Southwark, in the cellars of the Oxford colleges and Inns of Court, these sealed bottles give much information on the early drinking habits of the aspiring and upwardly mobile, and the established aristocracy.
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