Recent Meetings

Autumn Meeting 21 and 22 October 2011 in Sheffield

A successful autumn gathering was held in Sheffield on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October. On the Friday evening a number of members enjoyed a convivial meal at Piccolino’s Restaurant in central Sheffield.  On Saturday morning many members were to be found in the metalwork gallery at the Millenium Centre examining and discussing the silver and Sheffield plate on view there. Following a good lunch at the Novotel Sheffield Centre Hotel, the AGM was held at that hotel. After the AGM, Gordon Crosskey, author of the recently published book 'Old Sheffield Plate: A History of the 18th century Plating Trade', gave an excellent and all too short a talk on Old Sheffield Plate. Thereafter we had tea or coffee and the opportunity to examine and handle labels brought along by members. These were related primarily to Sheffield an it was a rare opportunity to see so many Sheffield silver and plate labels gathered together at one time. We will show photographs of the events here shortly.

Spring Meeting 12 May 2011 in London

Members of the Circle and guests met at the Savile Club in London on Thursday 12 May for the spring meeting. There was an Open Forum, giving members the opportunity to comment on the Circle’s activities and plans. Among topics discussed were the venue and timing of meetings, the Journal, book projects, finances and membership.

 After a short interval, Robin Butler gave a talk on wine accessories such as wine labels, bin labels, bottles and coasters. In an excellent talk, he put labels into the wider context of appreciation of wine in Britain. This stemmed from Britain’s economic and military strength from the 1600s which led to import of numerous varieties of wine from different countries. This in turn led to an appreciation of different wines and the range of associated accessories to go with these wines – such as wine and bin labels. This theme and the accessories are discussed and well illustrated in his recent book ‘Great British Wine Accessories 1550-1900’.

Then a buffet – and wine – was served and time to mingle, talk and view labels brought by members. These included a selection of labels for Hock to accompany a tasting of several bottles of Old Hock brought by a member – Old Hock, up to forty years old, used to be a popular drink in the eighteenth century before it was superseded by the fashion for drinking Hock young and fresh. So another good evening with discussion spanning Circle matters, wine accessories, viewing labels, appreciation of wine and the opportunity to talk to other Circle members at a friendly and convivial evening gathering.

Below we have some images of the evening, Robin Butler who gave an excellent talk and some of the members and guests enjoying wine in the historic surroundings of the Savile Club. We are most grateful to Betty Harris for providing these photos.

Autumn Weekend  22 & 23 October 2010 was held in London

Friday 22 October By the kind invitation of the Vintners Company, Circle members had a most interesting tour of the historic Vintners Hall, seeing both the the fine collection of wine labels (some seen in 1 & 2) and the historic rooms (3 & 4). Then on Friday evening twenty two members and guests enjoyed dinner at the Aubaine restaurant in Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, some seen in (5).

Saturday 23 October. In the morning members had a private conducted tour of Apsley House, originally home of the Duke of Wellington, soldier and Prime Minister. They saw the fine furnishings and the extensive gifts of plate, porcelain and other items of fine quality presented to the Duke.

After lunch at the Rembrandt Hotel, opposite the Victoria & Albert Museum, the AGM took place at the hotel.Some of the commiuttee members are visible in (7), and, during the meeting, the Presidency passed  from Gordon Proctor (left) to Terry Gill (right) (8). The office of President is held for two years and the President is never re-elected, to ensure a flow of new ideas.

After the meeting, Gale Glynn, a noted authority on armorials on silver, gave a much appreciated talk on crests and armorials on wine labels and how it was possible in some instances to identify the original owners. The Circle Treasurer Stuart Wood (9) was left to contemplate the cost to the Circle finances of all this. In fact, members pay for each event they attend, apart from the AGM where the costs are drawn from Circle funds to encourage attendance.

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.