There are a number of serious collectors of dairy memorabilia. Between them they have a lot of knowledge and expertise. Many are keen to expand their collections further, and offer advice to fellow collectors and others.
Accredited museums such as MERL featured below are also an important source of material, images and advice.
Leslie Croxford
Leslie explains that he has "quite" a big collection (!)... lots of card bottle tops for wide neck bottles, enamelled bottles, packaging, Job's Dairy memorabilia, dairy uniforms etc. "You name it, I'll collect anything to do with the milk industry!" The images above show how well-presented his collection is.
Leslie is a regular contributor to the Express Dairy Tales FB Group.
Steven hern
Background
Ste Hern explains the background to his hobby "Growing up in the 90s, I spent many a lunch break at primary school huddled around small stacks of cardboard discs (Pogs) which were bought, swapped, and collected-with many of us building large collections. Thinking back, I suppose that that’s where my interest started.
For Christmas one year I received a ‘Pog milk cap maker’ – It was only when I started looking into the name that I discovered that the game had in fact started using the cardboard milk caps in Hawaii. Through research, I also found out that the UK had adopted the use of the milk caps to seal wide top glass milk bottles around the late 1890s and so the seed was sown and the hunt for these caps was on."
THE COLLECTION
Despite having vanished over half a century ago, there are still a number of milk cap collectors around - small quantities of caps are sometimes found in house clearances or old shops and dairies but are quickly snapped up by collectors if they have desirable designs.
No matter where I go, I can always be found skulking around antiques shops and rummaging at the bottom of boxes trying to find more caps to add to my collection. I’m also in contact with other collectors and we regularly swap caps between ourselves to improve and expand our collections.
If anyone has any of these caps which they think may be of interest, please don’t hesitate to contact me – I’m always looking for UK caps to add to my collection.
CONTACTS
Email: milkcapcrazy@gmail.com
Instagram: @milkcapcrazy
MARK HUDSON
Mark has been collecting milk bottles and associated milk delivery memorabilia since 1974 when he was ten years old. He is always keen to hear from others who share his passion, were connected to the milk trade or have anything dairy-related to part with.
Mark uses his nickname 'Milkmark' on social media and eBay.
CONTACTS
PAUL LUKE
Background
Paul explains “I started collecting milk bottles at the young age of 9. From helping the local milkmen I’d seen that the bottles were quite plain and boring; then there was a spurge of advertising on the bottles. I thought it would be a good idea to keep one of each. It went from having nine on my mum and dad’s kitchen sideboard to investing in a shed to display the then 600 strong collection.
I then started collecting an array of 'go with' items: foil caps, cardboard caps, dairy-related photos, milk floats and practically anything related to milk!"
THE COLLECTION
"This left me with the collection I have today, 15,000 different milk bottles from across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, around 8000 different foil caps, 1000 cardboard caps, 20,000 photos and a handful of milk floats!
I now hire out my floats for PR events, proms and funerals, further details available at www.thedairypropshop.co.uk"
Paul has generously lent Express Dairy Tales many documents, photos and images for our archive.
MUSEUM OF ENGLISH RURAL LIFE (MERL)
MERL is recognised as a prime UK source for information about all aspects of agriculture, food and rural life. The museum in Reading, Berkshire is open to the public and includes extensive and well presented galleries covering many aspects of rural life, including a small dairying section, shown in part above.
The MERL, which is run by the University of Reading, also includes a library, extensive archives, a database of collections and can receive donations of material by agreement.
There are special exhibitions including events for children and young people, a café, garden and shop.
ADDRESS AND CONTACTS
PAUL SMITH
Paul has a fantastic collecton of dairy items, and including documents and photos which he has generously lent to Express Dairy Tales for our archive.
Steve WHEELER
Steve Wheeler's Milk Bottle Museum was featured on BBC Bargain Hunt in December 2023. Steve explains how his collection started and expanded, and shows the first glass milk bottle from Express Dairy in the 1880's.
Steve is a renowned expert on all things milk bottle!