Victorian silver plated double decanter wine trolley on four wheels, the pivoting handle fitted with a turned ivory pull, each bottle trolley holding a turned wooden wine coaster. Hallmarked for Ellis-Barker Silver Companies, Birmingham, England, circa 1900.
This style of double decanter wine trolley is designed for formal occasions to distribute the contents of wine decanters to guests seated at long dining tables. The wheeled trolley pivots in order to travel easily as it is pulled down the table by the handle. The invention of the wine trolley has been credited to the invention of Sir Edward Thomason in the early 1820’s. He described the events leading up to his invention in his memoirs that are recounted in the History of Old Sheffield Plate by Frederick Bradbury, published 1912.
Many years since, Lord Rolle called upon me at my establishment, and said that he had dined with His Majesty George IV. The day before, and that His Majesty was pleased to remark that he regretted that his noble guests who sat on either side of him were constrained to rise from their seats to pas the wine, and observed to him (Lord Rolle), ‘as you have said that you are going to Birmingham to-morrow, you had better call upon Thomason who may invent some plan to obviate this inconvenience.’
I suggested to Lord Rolle that decanter stands upon wheels was, in my opinion, the only method to be adopted ; and as I held the beautiful dies containing the victories of the late war, forty in number, viz., from the landing in Portugal to the capture of Paris, and the settling of Napoleon at St. Helena, I recommended to place these medals around the flat perpendicular edges of the bottle stands, which would fill up four, thereby adapting them to two waggons, the whole made of silver and richly gilt, and each waggon to have beautifully ornamented wheels. *His lordship approved of my suggestions, and requested that no time should be lost in executing them, and when done to forward them to the Marquis of Conyngham. On their arrival, His Majesty expressed his entire approbation of the thought. Some time afterwards the King presented them to the Duke of Wellington.
Our fine double decanter example is complete with turned wooden liners, mounted in silver plated surrounds each decorated with curved edges and four shells, which rolls smoothly on four wheels.
Size in inches: 3 ¾ h x 17 ¾ w x 6 ¼ d
C21260
