The base of a stoneware bottle containing blacking liquid or paste, 19th century.
This bottle type is similar to those produced for Warren’s Blacking Factory near the Strand, where Charles Dickens worked in 1824, aged twelve, after his parents fell into debt. Dickens’ job at the factory was to cover the bottles of paste-blacking and to make the bottle look smart with paper and labels so that they could be sold in apothecaries. For this, he earned six shillings a week in wages and worked six days a week from 8am to 8pm. This experience of working and independence was a significant period in his life and later dwelt on this time with horror and indignation (source).
6 November 2021
ID: 90056
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