Cinderellas: Wine & Spirits Bottles Stamp-Like Labels

Thanks for the response, LB1.  I am a bit surprised at your answers, as I was expecting you to say just the opposite!  I was guessing that the selvedge had a better chance of being collectible than the wine label.  Glad I asked!

As I write this, I am now conducting an experiment to see if soaking in water will get the wine label off.  Experience tells me that it may not.  I have collected wine labels, too, and only some are affixed with water-soluble glues.  Others have had to be removed by means that stamp collectors would consider completely unsatisfactory.

So, I have carefully half-submerged the bottle in a shallow pan full of water to see if the label on the back of the bottle can be removed by soaking.  If that works, then I will know that it is safe to soak the stamp-like label.  If that doesn't work, then I will need to get other suggestions from Forum members.

The Panama Pacific cinderellas are gorgeous!  Thanks for posting those.  When you call these "poster stamps", does that simply refer to the fact that the artwork makes them look like miniature posters, or were they intended to be affixed to posters or something?

Sorry for all the questions!  I just want to learn as much as I can about this area of our hobby with which I am just not that familiar.

Lillie Langtry Wine Label Cinderella

I decided today that I could not wait any longer to see how the stamp-label had turned out, and here it is.  It seems silly to be excited over such a little thing like this, but I suppose it is a bit like what I used to feel as a kid when I fished the prize out of a box of Cracker Jack, or a baseball card out of the bottom of a cereal box.  Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this.

I did a little bit of on-line research about Lillie Langtry, who was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in Jersey.  She lived from 1853-1929.  She was of British-American descent, and she was an actress and famous beauty in her day.  She is reputed to have been a mistress of Edward VII while he was still Prince of Wales (1877-1880).

It is not completely clear to me why she would be featured on a wine label, other than that she seems to have been someone who enjoyed the good life and high society during her lifetime.  The stamp is roughly about 35mm x 35mm (1-3/8" x 1-3/8") in size with die-cut edges to resemble perforations.  The design of the stamp bears a resemblance to U.S. stamps from the 1910s and 1920s.

The inscription below the portrait is hard to make out in its entirety.  To me, it seems to read "LIKE / CALIFORNIA / IR", which doesn't make any sense.  The California part is clear enough, as the wine is made in California.  I am not sure about the two other words.  Any other opinions on what they might be are welcome.

Below the image of the stamp is the photo of Lillie Langtry on which the stamp portrait seems to be based.

Great story and great looking house. Lovely piece of history. I had an immediate feeling of wanting to visit !! Now I must look out for the wine ! (and the label)

Should you ever visit London, it may be worth poking your head into Rules restaurant, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. Established in 1798, a private room was used by KEVII to entertain Lily Langtree. The pair could slip upstairs unseen, into the room through a hidden curtain. Just don't go there during service, unless you eat there of course.

I had a meal there many years ago and it was very good. Filmed in there too.

Many thanks for your comments, Anping.  I was treated to dinner at Rules once many years ago, probably around 1989-1991.  I remember that it was very good, and my host insisted that I have the Spotted Dick for dessert, which was new to me at the time.  I thought that the name was the most interesting thing about Spotted Dick, and now that I have eaten it, that thought has been confirmed, in my mind at least.

Now that I know about the Langtry/KEVII connection, I will try to make a point of going there again when I am next in London.

Hardy's Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon Labels 1997

A couple of wine labels depicting Australian faux stamps, lightly embossed.

JeffS , yes, very nice. I posted a couple of Australian wine labels here

Daniel

With the move and merger of these posts, I read through the early ones about soaking the label off of the wine bottle. Among the beer related items I collect, bottle (and now can) labels are included. I have quite a bit of experience doing this and found in most cases an extended soak (days) in water with ammonia added usually does the trick. Some of the hard plastic labels can just be peeled off by using a razor blade to lift an edge. These will retain the glue and be sticky so I attache them to copy paper.

There are also some that no matter what you try will come off a crumpled, torn mess.

Like stamps, beer and wine labels use a multitude of ink types and some wash off in the soak or fade. Almost all metallic looking inks flake off is soaked too long.

For the labels that survive the soaking (most do, at least for the beers I drink), I scrape off any glue remnants (except for the ones mentioned earlier that I stick on paper) with a razor blade while they are still wet. I let them air dry on a smooth surface and then flatten with a weight. I check them about 30 minutes to an hour after they start drying because some will try to stick to the surface as they dry.

Thanks for your comments, mberry and rod222.  I took a look at my earlier posts about the Lillie Langtry labels, and it seems I may not have made it clear that in the end, I used a citrus-based cleaning fluid called Goo Gone to remove the labels from the bottles, and it worked very well.  I imagine it to be similar to what Rod posted about.  I was inspired to use Goo Gone based on posts made by Steve (tomiseksj), who had good success using something similar on US self-adhesive stamps.

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Benton-Lane Winery, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Stamp-Like Wine Labels

To me, the US winery best known for stamp-like wine labels is Benton-Lane.  They have been doing these types of labels for as long as I can remember, and I see that the winery was founded in 1988.  I don't currently have a bottle handy, so the images below have been taken from the internet.  I will make an effort to get to a wine shop sometime over the holidays to get a bottle or two and see if I can safely remove the labels.  Stay tuned for future updates on that.


Recent Benton-Lane labels that bear a distinct resemblance to US stamp definitive issues from the 1910s-1920s.
Image source: benton-lane.com/


Even the Benton-Lane Winery sign looks like a postage stamp!  Not sure I have a stock book big enough for a copy of this one....
Image credit: Erik Wait, blogsite: 1.bp.blogspot.com/Benton+Lane+Winery+1+-+Erik+Wait.JPG