The collector: Keith Osborne, UK.

The collection: Beer labels.

The story behind the collection...

In December 1924, the Brewers’ Journal reported that a second hand bookseller was offering, for 50 guineas, a collection of 10,000 beer bottle labels, “carefully preserved” in 15 albums. A noted collector had spent nearly 50 years in travelling and gathering them together. The article noted that these mint examples were of “beautiful design and artistic merit”, and many of them came from breweries which had been closed down.

This brief snippet suggested that beer label collecting was perhaps unusual then. It shows that there were certainly collectors around well before 1900. Possibly, there were enthusiasts two decades or so before, when the earliest beer labels appeared.

What attracts people to collect beer labels? The aesthetic qualities were certainly recognized by the Brewers’ Journal. Size was also an important factor. Apart from the massive labels used by some breweries like Watney Combe Reid of London in the early 20^th century, for their quart bottles, generally, most labels in use in the 1950s and before were small. Many labels are attractive because they made effective use of colour. Often, two or three main colours combined to make the label stand out. Red seems to be a favourite colour and many labels combine this with black lettering printed on white paper.

Colour and design are not the only reasons for their appeal. Many represent a bygone age, and tastes. The styles Dinner Ale, Family Ale and Luncheon Stout show that beer drinking during mealtimes was common in households. The beer consumed during a meal was generally of low strength.

Breweries have tended to come and go over the years and many firms and brews are no longer with us. Between 1900 and 1979, the number of brewers for sale in the United Kingdom declined from 6,000 to 179 (although the establishment of microbreweries has boosted that number now). History is fascinating to the label collector. Obsolete companies and designs – especially dating back before 1960 - are certainly more collectable.  

When I lived in Hampshire, I spent years trying to obtain a label from a defunct brewery in Hartley Wintney, acquired in 1921 by Friary Holroyd & Healy’s Breweries of Guildford. When the brewery closed and the buildings unused for a time, local children used the labels left over for paper chases! Letters to newspapers, talking to publicans, contacting local historians, advertising in beer and collecting magazines and attending breweriana fairs all drew a blank.  Then, three years ago, a specimen emerged and it now has pride of place in my collection. Today, the brewery building still stands behind the former brewer’s house in Hartley Row, carefully preserved but in other uses, overlooking the village cricket ground.

One of the most interesting aspects of beer label collecting is the use by some breweries of protectionist backgrounds and devices on their labels. Bass Ratcliff & Gretton of Burton-on-Trent, who registered the first trade mark – the red triangle – when the Trade Marks Registration Act was introduced in 1875, had, even into the 1960s, a background that made copying difficult, but it did not deter some companies who were keen to compete with, and steal the glory from, their famous rival.  

Collectors pursue their own themes and areas. I have concentrated on labels from the UK and Ireland. The commemorative or special event label is one area which is gaining in popularity. Royal events such as weddings, coronations, silver, gold and diamond jubilees and births are especially sought after.  

Special event labels have not been confined to royalty. Landmarks in the development of breweries – such as 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 year anniversaries have sometimes prompted a commemorative brew, mostly a stronger beer than normal. Brewery closures are also commemorated.

I have spent over 47 years collecting beer labels. The existence of labels is not enough for me; I have to delve into the past, and discover the history of the brewery that issued them, to understand that these concerns not only made a big contribution to the local economy, providing work for people in the community, but produced a range of ales and stouts which slaked the thirst of many in good and bad times. Often a brewery building dominated an area with its distinctive tower and smell of malt and hops permeating the air around. That is why I have researched breweries over the years and got to know more about traditional firms which often had a loyal and dedicated following. It started in the late 1950s/early 1960s when I visited two breweries in my home town of Maidstone (Fremlins and Style and Winch) and was given labels showing the elephant and the Kentish farmer. Those visits provided the springboard for my interest.

Keith is always keen to hear from ex-brewers, brewery employeers and publicans who may have collections tucked away. He is particularly interested in pre-1950 labels. If you are a budding collector of beer labels he would be happy to put you in touch with the UK's beer collecting organization, The Labologists Society, which has been going for 63 years! He can be contacted at [email protected] 

'The Capital of Ale' by Keith Osborne is available from Waterstones, Burton on Trent.

Images © Keith Osborne and used with his kind permission