London Brighton and South Coast Railway Luggage Labels
The Earliest Styles
| by Mike
Morant |
| These are the earliest type of LBSCR luggage label which the
Railway Print Society handbook (RPS1 ©) designates as L41 (black print)
and L42 (red print). These are the only Brighton labels that have, in some
instances, the company title split into two lines of text. They were printed on
bright white paper and that characteristic, in the majority of cases, has stood
the test of time.
One would have thought that these very old labels would be in short supply but they are surprisingly readily available. Some stations of origin, Baynards, Bosham, Carshalton, Hartfield, Mitcham Junction and Partridge Green spring to mind, are quite common although some of their destinations are not so easily acquired. Slinfold and Southwater were virtually unknown three years ago but they have appeared in some numbers in the 2002 - 2003 period. |
 Dimensions: 93mm x 63mm |
The example on the left typifies the basic and very clean design
which, one would have expected, would be apparent in all labels of this style.
No such luck! The labels shown below display all the less balanced traits of this label type with the heading spread over two lines, two varieties thereof and the use of italics for both the heading and the station of origin. |
| The destination (New Wandsworth) also helps to determine the label's antiquity because an antique is genuinely what it is. The name was applied to the second station to be become known as Wandsworth Common whilst the original Wandsworth Common was still in use. The dates for New Wandsworth are from 1858 to 1869. |
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| But look at what's crept in. As well as the variations mentioned above there are two more to contend with. The red-printed labels are contemporaneous with the black-printed ones and no-one has identified any reason for the distinction between them. They are generally scarcer than the black printed version. | |
| Displayed on the right is another slight variation in that a destination printed on two lines within this label type is quite unusual and Isle of Wight destinations aren't exactly prolific. |  |
| Also of note in the above illustrations are yet more unusual
destinations. Keymer Jn. was originally on the Lewes branch but closed in 1883
and was superseded by Wivelsfield, but on a different site, some three years
later whilst Caterham Junction was subsequently renamed Purley in 1888.
There is also reference to a destination on another railway in the form of Romsey but such references appear to relate mainly to the LSWR - with whom the LBSCR had a long and successful relationship - plus the occasional mention of Cowes and Ryde. The LSWR's considerable contribution to the luggage label collectors' archives will be described in a future chapter on this web site but it is worth noting here that the very earliest LSWR label type, contemporaries of this page's contents, includes LBSCR destinations. |
All photographs are copyright
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This page was last updated 23 November 2007
