W Murphy, Huddersfield

This 155mm high aqua coloured glass bottle is embossed “Tavu Boot Dressing” on one side and “W. Murphy Huddersfield” on the other. The face of the bottle is indented and would originally have has a paper label affixed.

Right: This smaller 110mm high aqua coloured glass bottle embossed with just “Tavu Boot Polish” on one side.

The Tavu Boot Dressing and Boot Polish products made by W. Murphy of Huddersfield are believed to have been produced around 1885-1895. A time when, due to semi-automatic and then fully-automatic manufacturing processes, attractive glass packaging became a commercial proposition for utility products such as boot blacking in place of the then ubiquitous stoneware bottle such as those made in the millions by Denby and the like.