‘A
Buyers Market’……………………..
There are times when I am guilty of perhaps being
politically incorrect and if the following remarks cause any offence I
apologise! To generalise I have always thought that the further north you
travel the more likely the inhabitants value the pound in their pocket. Now by
the time you get to Yorkshire there are many who would agree that in this
county extravagance is not tolerated – so when I was on holiday some years ago
I met a couple from Barnsley who assured me that the Yorkshire battle-cry was
“How Much”! Hence the title of this blog.
The Wine Label Circle journal recently published an
article written by Robin Butler, a dealer who specialises in wine antiques. The following paragraph perhaps is
the essence of his narrative.
‘Recent
weeks and months have shown some disturbing trends brought about by the one inevitability
of a human life; it comes to an end. Several prominent members of your Circle, each
with substantial collections have died recently and not surprisingly, the
outcome of those very sad occurrences has been that those collections are being
broken up and sections of them appearing on the market, mainly at auction. Of
course, auctioneers are mindful of the market and are very aware that too many of
one type of object can ‘flood’ it, which can spark dire consequences for a
niche market. It is as well to remember
that prices of antiques are all a question of supply and demand. They can go
down as well as up; they are not about the cost of manufacture, which
differentiates the pricing of them very considerably from the sale of new
goods.
Reflecting upon his words I thought it useful to
search through past copies of the WLC journal and have picked out the following.
Editorial
by John Beecroft, June 1967;
‘Of late, wine
labels have been appearing in the sale rooms
in quantities
greater than usual. Prices show no signs of
flagging. There is
an account, in this issue, of a sale
where 111 wine
labels (eleven plated) and 33 sauce labels
commanded a total
of £1,083.
At the Fairs and
in the shops, labels of quality seldom
appear. When the only desirable pair seen in
months is
offered at £60 (Scrolls with raised shield by Hester
Bateman)
one despairs of
ever adding another specimen to the collection.
Then, as it always
has done, the windfall begins again and four
fine labels appear
including a shell and an unusual star - and
all at the right
price.
Secretary’s jottings 1965; Rising Prices
About two years
ago I acquired a very nice quality Vine and Tendril
type label,
roughly oval in shape. It is surmounted by a leopard's head
mask, with a shell
motif at the base. I thought that I had paid plenty,
£4, for the label,
although I appreciated its quality and charm. Studying
a London catalogue
recently, I was interested to see an exactly similar
label on offer. My interest turned to astonishment when I
saw that the
specimen was priced at £22. Four pounds in 1963 and twenty-two pounds in
1965! Now I agree
that £22 is really rather ridiculous, but the fact
remains that
prices have rocketed and continue to rise.
What is the reason
for this continuing trend? There is, I think,
no simple,
clear-cut answer. Various factors contribute to this state of
affairs. A good
many of our best labels have gone abroad, notably to
America. Indeed,
the American market must take the blame for the inflated
prices, and
over-generous assessment of the quality of labels made by the
Bateman family.
There are, too, several thousand labels locked up permanently
in Museums, never
again to be circulated among dealers and
collectors. I
suppose, though, that the chief factor is that too many folk
are chasing too
few labels. In the 'golden days' twenty years ago, when
all sorts and
kinds were to be had for very few shillings, few collectors
were active;
dealers usually had plenty to offer, and indeed, were more than
glad to find
buyers, even if the profits were modest. Those days are over.
Editorial by John
Beecroft June 1962;
‘Some members have expressed the view that
we tend to publish too many
references to the ever-increasing prices being asked
for wine labels and that these reports add impetus to the upward trend. This may well be the case if the Journal were made
available to members of the silver trade, who would thereby glean much valuable
information regarding coveted designs, makers and rare names. When the rules
were drawn up, dealers were specifically excluded from membership. It is felt
that members should give careful consideration to the possible consequences of
allowing their copies of the Journal to circulate among members of the trade.’
Contribution from
a new member, K. Escott 1962.
I heard of the
Circle, joined, and became engrossed in as many of the back numbers of the
Journal that Mr. Pratt could let me have. At the outset I bought almost every
label that I saw, within a limit of 30/-d. As a beginner, I now realise it is a
big mistake to stick rigidly to such a limit and so miss a fine specimen for
the sake of a few shillings and then go on kicking yourself for a long time
afterwards. I remember refusing an early unusual shaped escutcheon priced at £2
in a West End furniture shop. Three months later I changed my mind and hurried
back; to my relief it still lay in a dark corner and this time I was only asked
30/-d. for it. It turned out to be a c.1737 John Harvey and I wonder if it is
similar to those mentioned on page 122 of Vol. II. On the debit side I declined
to pay £2 for an octagonal Rum label fully marked at the Exeter hall, and have
since regretted it. Labels of merit
become increasingly scarce and I refuse to pay the £6 to £7 asked for a Hester
Bateman. I began to despair of ever owning one, then in February this year
I tried a silversmith a stone's throw from Leicester Square. He apologetically
handed me his last two antique labels and I tried to conceal my delight on
finding them to be both by Hester). Two pounds exchanged hands and I carried
them off triumphantly.
June 1979,
Secretary’s Notes;
FEW NEW MEMBERS. This
is, so far, the quietest year I have experienced as Honorary Secretary of the
Circle. Since the last A.G.M. we have had only four new members, and these joined
us before February of this year. I have supplied several application forms to
enquirers since then, but these have come to nothing. Furthermore, there has
been very little correspondence with members and others; indeed, less than
twenty letters.
WHY ? I
may be mistaken, but I feel that the prevailing prices discourage those who may
wish to start to collect labels, as a very considerable outlay is needed to
form even a modest representative collection. Only recently I was asked £38 for
rather a miserable "Architectural" specimen of 1846, and a similar
price is not unusual for very ordinary run-of-the- mill specimens. I have heard of 'inflation' but sums of £20
and upwards (usually upwards) asked for items which cost not more than £2 a
dozen years ago, must deter even the
bravest hearts of those who wish to collect in a
modest way.
I do not anticipate much increase in membership of the
Circle until some sanity returns to the label market.
December 1979.
Report of the Secretary; ‘I don't know whether
members agreed with my comments in the June 1979 Journal as to a possible
reason for a standstill in growth in membership, but the cost of labels must be a discouragement to anyone
considering the start of a collection. No doubt there are still bargains
to be found, but I think you need the nose of A bloodhound, the sleuth-like abilities
of a Sherlock Holmes, and a good deal of luck, to discover them. Whether, in
view of the inflation of the last few years, labels are over-priced, I don't really
know; but much small silver, such as vinaigrettes, certainly is. However,
there's nothing we can do about that.
So,
we are all now aware that the long upward trend in prices has come to a halt
and at present wine label prices have declined considerably. We need to remind
ourselves that the simple fact is that recently, (and sadly) some collectors
have passed away. Some were generous with their research and generously shared
their accumulated knowledge through contributions to the WLC Journal.
Now
their extensive wine-label collections have been sold at auction, it is worth mentioning
that at least two of these collectors were prepared to pay very high prices for
what they considered ‘Trophy’ labels. As one of the auctioneers from a
sale-room told me that if the two collectors referred to above were competing
for a particular label then the sky might be the limit.
This
situation I have compared to the ranking of the Bordeaux classed growth
clarets, the first growth wines being compared to ‘Trophy’ wine labels. Hence
the situation had arisen that by the time you were down to looking at Fifth
growth and the bourgeois wines the price of simple ‘run of the mill’ silver
labels were becoming relatively expensive. Recently, however, there have been
so many labels flooding the market that good quality, but simple labels by
reputable makers have been available at 50-60% their previous price range.
Without
doubt for existing collectors, (and dealers), this scenario is a mixed
blessing. Dealers will be looking at stock purchased when prices were higher –
do they sit on this stock and hope/anticipate that prices will return to
previous levels?
Some
collectors will also look at their collection and realise they have ‘invested’
a considerable amount of money in buying labels at what now may seem rather
inflated prices. If they have thought of their label collection as an
investment those labels were not sold like stock market funds which carry a
statuary warning that prices can fall as well as rise.
Perhaps
there must be a fundamental re-assessment of whether there should be a return to the ‘Good Old Days’ of
ever-rising prices, making wine labels one of the most expensive ways of
acquiring silver.
If
gerontologists and actuaries were to look at the profile of the existing Wine
Label Circle members, they would probably conclude that within the next decade
there will be more collections appearing in the sale-rooms.
Members
of the Wine Label Circle often comment on the need for younger people to be encouraged
to collect and hopefully to join the WLC. I have also been told by members that
their own children are not particularly interested in their wine-label
collection. But if wine-label prices do start to spiral up to previous levels,
will this put off younger aspirant collectors?
If young people are leaving university with enormous debts, then
struggling to save the 10% deposit for a home, will the luxury of collecting
wine labels ever be on their agenda? I must add that I am sure that the passion
for collecting amongst the younger generation does exist – music, essential
technical gadgetry, tattoos, etc but will it ever be wine labels?
I
certainly believe that the reason for collecting wine labels is quite valid,
their design and various names reflect the both the aesthetic and social
changes during the 18th & 19th century; they certainly are a visual record
of social history.
So, is it a dilemma, to buy or not to buy? Using stock
market investment terms, I think of my collecting as being contrarian. I
am generally looking for the undervalued, unloved, slightly quirky and perhaps the
incorrectly catalogued and I am certainly in a buying mood.
Perhaps to illustrate how prices have changed I
recently acquired a label by Sebastian Crespell (2nd), Old Mountain for
£185.00. Significantly the last time this label changed hands was at Bonham’s
on November 8th, 2005. A collection of labels was put up for auction,
(not unsurprising named Mountain and formed by a Mrs Joyce Mountain). The Wine Label journal carried the following report by
the late Billy Buck who attended the sale.
"As regards
the Mountain collection, this was a good honest group of predictably mainly
18th century labels by the usual makers and typical designs. We say "predictably
18th century" because Mountain was particularly popular at that time and was
supplanted by Sherry as from the last quarter of the 18th century. The most expensive
label in the group, and indeed the sale, was a small gadrooned rectangle with the
surprisingly late date of 1841 by
Sebastian Crespel for OLD MOUNTAIN which made £494.”
The
final note of advice from Robin Butler is a philosophy that I share;
“It is becoming, or already has become a buyers’
market, so perhaps the more cogent advice is to find some fine quality labels
in excellent condition before everyone else catches on and sneaks them away
from under your nose!”
AUCTIONS.
At
this point it is worth reminding readers that in my last blog I mentioned the
following sale later this month: Woolley
and Wallis at Salisbury are holding a silver sale on the 30th October, Rupert
Slingsby, the silver specialist at W. & W. has told me that there are 74
lots including bin labels. (Most of the lots consist of 3 or more labels). It
will be very interesting to see what prices are paid for the wine labels.
To view the lots click here;
It
might be worth noting that at Lawrence’s of Crewkerne, their silver sale on the
9th October had two notable wine lots. The most collectable item,
(for me?), is below, a set of 10 labels, with an estimate of £2000-£3000, the
sale price of £1800 was £200 less than the estimate.
A
RARE SET OF TEN GEORGE III BACCHANALIAN WINE LABELS
To view the lot click here;
The
other lot, a rare ‘Horticultural’ label exceeded the auctioneers estimate;
A GEORGE III SCOTTISH
CAST BACCHANALIAN "PRIXE" WINE LABEL: To view the lot click here;
Ebay
auctions; You can see prices below but for an example of falling
prices click on this pair of labels, (you will need to scroll down the new page).
Silver Sauce Labels; click here;
Enamel Wine Labels; click here;
Silver Wine Labels; click here.
You might like to see three early American labels; click here;
Finally, another story of the price of wine labels and
their valuation. In 1935 Major Herbert Dent, a noted wine label collector, sold
his collection of some 500 labels for £ 250.00. The money was to be used
towards the cost of educating his grandchildren. In 1933 Herbert Dent wrote and
privately published probably the first book about collecting wine labels. Only
250 copies were produced, all personally signed by the author and below is part
of the cover and illustration.
If £250 does not seem to be a great deal of money for 500 labels I have
used the website 'Measuring Worth'
to bring that value up-to-date. You can see below in
the table the various means of interpreting the sum.
Before
closing I will suggest to any readers who are looking at this blog and have an
interest in wine labels, you should seriously consider joining the Wine Label
Circle, it is only a thirty-pound annual subscription. There is a useful
website, http://winelabelcircle.org/, here you can access all the *digitized
journals of the Wine Label Circle, (these date back to 1952), and perhaps best
of all, there are two meetings where you can meet others with similar
interests.
Of
course, in addition to the above there are regular emailed newsletter and an
annual printed copy of the Wine Label Circle Journal.
Happy
collecting!
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