Next Meeting - Autumn Weekend on 22 & 23 October 2010

This weekend is now planned as follows:   

FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER

2.00pm Visit to Vintners Hall in the city of London to view the Anderson collection of wine labels, a fine and large group formed by an early collector. There will be a charge of £10 per member or guest

7.00pm An informal supper at a central London restaurant will be arranged

SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER

11.00am Visit to Apsley House, no 1 Piccadilly once the home of the Duke of Wellington to view the interior and particularly the spectacular silver. There will be a charge of £10 per member or guest

12.45pm Lunch at the Rembrandt Hotel, opposite the Victoria & Albert Museum

2.00 Wine Label Circle AGM at the Rembrandt Hotel

3.15pm Talk on armorial crests on wine labels by Gale Glynn, a leading authority on silver and armorials. There will be no charge

4.15pm Tea and opportunity to examine members labels and informal discussions.

Booking forms will be included with the autumn Journal in mid September.

Recent Meetings

Spring 2010 Meeting was held in London on Thursday 13 May. There was at 4.30pm an Open Forum for members to discuss Circle matters. The Spring Meeting followed at 6.30pm, with a talk on Samson enamel wine labels and a discussion about a planned publication on champagne wine labels. Then members nd guests enjoyed drinks, a light buffet and examination of a variety of silver and enamel labels.

Autumn 2009 Meeting was held in Birmingham on Friday 23 & Saturday 24 October 2009.

Friday 23 October: In the morning we visited the factory of W H Darby, whose primary business is the manufacture of badges and medals. They also make the Wyard Druitt wine labels designed by Michael Druitt. We saw all processes from the die-stamping with powerful presses, engraving, enamelling and finishing.  After a quick sandwich we were at Birmingham Assay Office at 2.00pm for a talk and video on assaying and hallmarking followed by a viewing of the Assay Office’s silver and, in the library, the wine labels in the Assay Office’s collection (1) including this fine pierced example with the mark of Joseph Taylor (2). In the evening we enjoyed an informal dinner in an Italian restaurant (3) - it wasn’t as dark as this appears.

Saturday 24 October: We visited Soho House in the morning, the home of the Birmingham entrepreneur Matthew Boulton, a leading proponent in the establishment of the Birmingham Assay Office in 1773. Then lunch at the Burlington Hotel followed by the AGM where members (4) faced a table of the Circle’s officers (5). The AGM was followed by an excellent lecture by Professor Ken Quickenden on Matthew Boulton’s customers.

Officers in photo 5 left to right: Bruce Jones (Co-Editor), Peggy Pullan (Secretary), Gordon Proctor (President), Terry Gill (Vice-President), Stuart Wood (Treasurer & Membership Secretary).

A number of members had brought labels, particularly Birmingham labels, for everyone to view and handle (6) and Pat Holder brought a selection of the fine labels he had himself made (7). So ended a most enjoyable couple of days in Birmingham.

Spring Meeting 2009 was held on 14 May at the Savile Club in London. Philippa Glanville gave an excellent illustrated lecture on ‘The Art of Drinking’ helping to place wine labels in the social and economic context of their times. This well attended meeting, including representatives from the Glass Circle, then discussed matters, viewed labels and enjoyed a buffet.

Autumn 2008 meeting and AG was held in London on Saturday 25 October 2008. We viewed the silver and particularly the labels at the Victoria & Albert Museum in the morning, including those in the reserve collection. Pictures of some of the members viewing labels 'behind the scenes' at the Museum appear below (1 & 3). At (2) is one of the trays of labels. We then had lunch at the Rembrant Hotel opposite the Museum, followed by the AGM. At that AGM, Gordon Proctor (4) was elected President for the next two years and a wine label suitably inscribed for 'Treasurer's PORT' (5) was presented to outgoing Treasurer Patrick Gaskell-Taylor (6).  Then the audience of some forty members and guests (7 & 9) enjoyed a stimulating lecture by David Constable (8) on armorial and crested labels. He illustrated these on screen and members displayed examples from their collections on the table in front of him and were able to examine the labels afterwards.

Joint meeting with the Glass Circle was held on 8 April 2008 to discuss, labels, decanters and glasses and the relations between these associated articles.  The speakers were Andy McConnell, author of 'The Decanter' and the glass expert on the television programme The Antiques Roadshow; and Professor John Salter, Editor of 'Wine Labels 1730-2003' and author of 'Sauce Labels'.

Spring 2008 meeting was held at the Savile Club, Brook Street, London W1 on Thursday 20 March 2008. The theme was enamels, with much appreciated talks by Erika Speel, an expert on painted enamels and the history of enamelling; and Dr Richard Wells, a noted authority on enamels labels who has provided three fine supplements on the subject for members.

The 2007 AGM was held on Saturday 20 October 2007 at the Castle Hotel, Taunton, Somerset. After a visit in the morning to the County Museum and a buffet lunch at the Castle Hotel, around 25 members gathered for the AGM, which commenced at 2.15pm. The year was reviewed, the accounts discussed, future plans were outlined, officers were elected for 2007/08, and suggestions for the continued improvement of the Journal were put forward. After the conclusion of the meeting, Tim Kent led a discussion of Exeter wine labels and members were able to view some 100 such labels. Some photographs at the Castle Hotel below.

The 2007 Spring meeting was held at the Savile Club, Brook Street, London on Thursday 22 March. John Rocyn-Jones led a discussion on the eighteenth century silversmith Susanna Barker and a good selection of labels with her mark were examined by members. Before this talk, members approved an updated Constitution for the Circle.

The 2006 AGM was held in London on Saturday 14 October 2006. After an informal lunch attended by some members, the AGM was held at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Tony Hampton was elected President for the next two years and Nicholas Shaw gave a very well received talk on heraldic and animal labels and showed many examples of these fine and rare designs. To give a flavour of proceedings, we show three photographs - one of the tables at lunch (outside in mid October in London!), Nick Shaw holds up a label during his presentation, and some members inspect labels after the presentation.

Two Organised Meetings Each Year

The Circle holds two organised meetings each year, a Spring Meeting in March and an Autumn Meeting in October - see dates below. Each of these meetings has a theme, such as particular designs or silversmiths. Members are encouraged to bring their own labels illustrating the theme and other labels they wish to discuss and seek opinions. Members also have the opportunity to meet, socialise exchange information and labels and take part in developing the work of the Circle. In addition to these organised meetings, individual members meet informally from time to time, typically around the time of, and indeed at, antique fairs.

 Venues for Meetings

The Spring meeting is held in London, while the Annual General Meeting alternates annually between London and other venues of interest for label collectors such as Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, York, Sheffield, Birmingham. The content of the programme varies but may include visits, hands on inspection of collections, presentation of papers, and lunch or dinner.

When visits have been made to those museums which hold collections of wine labels, members have had the chance, not normally given to the public, to handle and inspect many examples of the label makers' craft. Among the museums visited are the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; and the London Museum, London. Similar opportunities have been afforded by Birmingham Assay Office, and the Goldsmiths' and Vintners' Companies, London.