A rare

A rare, early Victorian cast bacchanalian wine label, with a scroll title area incised 'C, Lisbon,' by C. Rawlings & W. Summers, London 1838. *The 'C' on the title could possibly stand for Cape Lisbon, meaning that the wine has travelled around the Cape of Good Hope, as was the custom for some sherries. It was thought at one stage that below decks on merchant ships was an ideal place or environment to mature sherry, so certain producers allowed pipes of their liquor to act as ballast, on merchantmen bound for Calcutta via the Cape. To distinguish this sherry from the more regular beverage, it was given the prefix 'Cape,' or 'C.' Perhaps this may be an explanation for the title of this particular label.