the clear glass square section bottle with a rope-twist border to one side, a woven cap and bearing the post-prohibition raised lettering" FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE" to the shoulder and the distributer's name to the base "BURNE TURNER & CO LONDON"; the diorama within comprising a three masted clipper in full sale on a choppy sea with a steam-boat tender off her port bow, she flys the red ensign,

The bottle itself seems to have been for gin, or whisky, bottled and distributed by Burne Turner and Co. in London for export to post-prohibition America. When the USA came out of prohibition in 1935 there were numerous federal laws introduced to limit the abilities of bootleggers to continue their trade in passing-off rebottled spirits as branded regulated products. The “Federal Law Forbids…” stamp was enforced from 1935-62 and is applied here to a London bottle presumably for the export market.

The nicely modelled ship could well be a rendition of “The Cutty Sark”, a Clyde built clipper – now a London landmark – and could be a witty reference to the blended whisky of that name that, from 1955, bore a line drawing of the famous clipper on its label.

We don’t recommend that old ships in bottles travel by post as they may not respond well to jolts, shakes and inversion.