English Seal

[Relicsnstuff]

We found this bottle yesterday, on the seal it has a crown, London, and V G 5, i have never seen a seal with this on it, anyone have any ideas on use and value as it has two owners right now.

 

[Relicsnstuff]

And a picture of the base, sorry its not clear.

 

[TROG]

Not certain but think this is an English Gin Bottle from around 1850

 

[Relicsnstuff]

I agree with it likely being a English Gin, so far though we hearing that english gins are rare but i have not confirmed that yet.

 

[surfaceone]

so far though we hearing that english gins are rare but i have not confirmed that yet.

Hey Joseph,

It's a nice looking bottle, of which I would like to see more photos.

Don't believe that British Gin is a rarity.

"Gin became popular in England after the Government allowed unlicensed gin production and at the same time imposed a heavy duty on all imported spirits. This created a market for poor-quality grain that was unfit for brewing beer, and thousands of gin-shops sprang up throughout England, a period known as the Gin Craze. Because of the relative price of gin, when compared with other drinks available at the same time and in the same geographic location, gin became popular with the poor. Of the 15,000 drinking establishments in London, not including coffee shops and drinking chocolate shops, over half were gin shops. Beer maintained a healthy reputation as it was often safer to drink the brewed ale than unclean plain water. Gin, though, was blamed for various social problems, and it may have been a factor in the higher death rates which stabilized London's previously growing population, although there is no evidence for this and it is merely conjecture.[7] The reputation of the two drinks was illustrated by William Hogarth in his engravings Beer Street and Gin Lane (1751). This negative reputation survives today in the English language, in terms like "gin mills" or the American phrase "gin joints" to describe disreputable bars or "gin-soaked" to refer to drunks, and in the phrase "mother's ruin", a common British name for gin. Paradoxically the "negative" connotations are now becoming associated with "positive" connotations - with the resurgence of gin, upmarket bars now frequently refer to "mother's ruin", "gin palaces", where printed copies of Hogarth paintings may sometimes be found.. Brief poem seen circa 1940, anonymous: "The principal sin, Of Gin, Is, among others, Ruining mothers"." wiki-Gin.

 

[deepbluedigger]

That's a very nice bottle, and quite a rarity, but it's not British.

It's from the Baltic region, and the 'LONDON' on the seal, like the LONDON mustard jars that were manufactured throughout Europe and in the US as well as in Britain, refers to the contents, not the origin of the bottle. In this case a type of gin.

The initials are the merchants / distillers mark. That looks like quite a late one (maybe mid 19th century). Check out Van den Bossche page 39 and page 260 for some much earlier (18th century) ones.

I'm not sure about value, but it is a rare bottle.

 

[cowseatmaize]

Check out Van den Bossche page 39 and page 260 for some much earlier (18th century) ones.

I'd love to Jerry, got one for sale...say 25£ shipped? [][]------↓
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[deepbluedigger]

I wish I could Eric. When the book was first published here in the UK the retail price was £50, but eventually piles of them were remaindered in clearance shops for £15 (and sometimes even £10) each. So I bought three. Gave two away to friends over the years, then recently tried to get hold of another for someone ..... and was shocked by how much they cost now! I eventually managed to get him a heavily used copy for £25 from another collector a few months ago, but haven't seen one for under £100 since.

 

[cowseatmaize]

Same here and the US price is in the $200 + range that I can find. It's so aggravating to me.
I have about 50 bottles I'll probably give to a charity shop because I'm more interested in reading about them than owning them. I'm going to try and sell some also.
I'm close to more books than bottles but that's a book I really want.
Did you have any luck with the Greer price sheets?

 

[Relicsnstuff]

As always great replys and info on the site, i have seen and dug the German gins and Jewish gins but not this one that i assumed was english because of the seal with london and having the crown on it, but it was a guess on my part, we mostly dig 1830 up glass in our area, of course before 1830 most bottles are imports for England and France and the American companys were just starting up at that time, The bottle came from a dig in the New Orleans area, deepblue digger i don't have the Van Den Bossche book, would like to get one but not sure where to find one and how hard they may be to come by, again this is the fun part for me getting new information and a history lesson at the same time, Surfaceone i will post some more pics in the next couple days and great input as well, so if i understand deepblue digger this bottle may not be common and is not form England, any futher information would be welcome so as i may contiune my education on this bottle.

Thanks,

Joe.