Two rare beer labels sell for over £1,200 on eBay

Two rare beer labels from brews produced in Burton-on-Trent recently sold for a combined total of £1,239.54 on eBay, attracting 26 hopeful bidders between them.

Image: eBay.

As reported by the Derby Telegraph, the two labels were recently sold in two separate online auctions.

The first, sold on 26 August, was a label for James Eadie Sparkling Dinner Ale which fetched £817.77 and attracted 14 bidders.

Born in Perthshire in 1827, Eadie founded a brewery in 1854 which operated in Burton-on-Trent for around 90 years. It was acquired by Bass in 1933.

The label bears James Eadie’s name and was priced at 6d per (pint) bottle with a handwritten note on the back which reads: “new layout no.1”.

It was described by the seller as being “very old”, 101mm in height and in good condition.

The second label was described as a “rare, pre-1900” beer label from the Burton Brewery Company and sold for £421.77, attracting 12 bidders.

Once housing double stout, a style popular at the time, the label is inscribed with ‘Burton Brewery Company’ with a picture of an eagle with star of David on the front.

Image: eBay.

The Burton Brewery Company was founded in 1842 by tanners Henry and Thomas Wilders, who began brewing out of premises on Burton High Street.

While initially experiencing fast growth, it began to suffer financial difficulties in the early 1900s, eventually being bought by Worthington & Co. in 1915.

The beers, however, continued to be brewed on site, even when Worthington merged with local rival Bass in 1927.

The label was described as being “90mm in length” and in “good condition”.

Burton-on-Trent has a long history of brewing and was once home to over 30 different breweries. It is known for its water, which has high calcium and magnesium levels combined with low levels of sodium and bicarbonate. This has led breweries to replicate it in a process known as burtonisation. Famous breweries associated with the town include Worthington, Marston’s and Bass.