An Extraordinarily Large Collection of Nearly 40,000 Wine and Spirits Labels from 49 Countries Around the World

Various Places: Various Ephemera. Fine. Unbound. Various. A remarkable collection amassed by a single collector from the 1940s-1970s whose original inventory sheet (included) lists 39,744 labels from 49 countries spanning the globe. The countries with the highest counts include Belgium, 8000+, France, 5100+, Spain, 4400+, and Switzerland, 3500+. The collector sent letters requesting their unused labels to wineries, breweries and distilleries. Consequently, almost all are unused and most are stored in the original contemporary return envelopes, with a count and sometimes a country on the outside for each envelope. A good number of duplicates and variants noted. Total inventory numbers not verified, although a good representative sampling of envelope counts confirms the accuracy of the count. Various sizes of labels, with complete bottle sets noted. Almost all are in Fine condition, with some creases and light wear from storage. The entire collection completely fills three bankers boxes. Provenance: from the original collector, Earl Ratliff of Long Beach, California, apparently an employee of Campbell Buick Company in Long Beach, with many of the envelopes bearing the companies address. Then from the collection of Dr. John W. Johnson, noted Indiana University folklorist. This collection is a treasure trove of colorful graphic designs and typography whose breadth, scope and sheer volume mark it as unique and RARE..