What Were Glass Bottle Seals?

Glass bottle seals were a blob of glass that was used on bottles of wine in the 1600s. Wealthy wine drinkers had their own specially made bottles that were personalised with a blob of glass attached to the main body of the bottle. When this blob was still pliable, it was impressed by a stamp to mark the bottle with a seal.

The seal would be initials, a coat of arms or a crest or a similar pattern that would distinguish the bottle for the person or family who had commissioned it. The finished effect was very much like a wax seal used in letters and documents of the time.

Tavern keepers also personalised their bottles and used a seal that was in the form of their tavern sign with a date. The date indicated when the bottle was made rather than when the wine was bottled or laid down as, at that time, bottles were designed for repeated use rather than a single use. An early example of recycling!