Copper mugs/measures? Any idea of original use?

[Rod Paradise]

A friend bought a job lot of antique stuff - loads of old tobacco tins, medicine packages etc - included came these:

1/2 pint, 1 & 2 pints marked on them. Anyone an idea on their original use? Thinking they'd make really nice billys, or even for kitchen use.

 

[carabao]

Could they be Custom and Excise mugs for measuring ?

 

[British Red]

Likely for measuring beer in pubs - originally many people supplied their own mugs and beer was sold using measures. I have a full set of pewter spirit measures that are mug shaped in fractions of a gill. They could be kitchen measures though - they don't look very pub like.

Please don't break those up. Sell them to a collector - like me!

 

[IanM]

I have seen identical repro kitchen measures in the US. What is their actual capacity to the brim?

 

[Rod Paradise]

Likely for measuring beer in pubs - originally many people supplied their own mugs and beer was sold using measures. I have a full set of pewter spirit measures that are mug shaped in fractions of a gill. They could be kitchen measures though - they don't look very pub like.

Please don't break those up. Sell them to a collector - like me!

Don't know if they're selling yet - the buyer bought a job lot of stuff to use for creating settings for her photography business. Was thinking of them as cookwear of some kind. If they decide to sell them I'll put you in touch though if you want. scratch that - she's in love with them and they're going in her kitchen. They're going to send me pics of the other copperware they're for selling though Red.

They bought a job lot in an auction from a doll's museum apparently & got a far bigger amount of stuff than they expected.

 

[British Red]

Glad they are getting used - repro or not - they are too pretty to cut about!

 

[rik_uk3]

If they were for weights and measures I'd have thought they would have had an official stamp? Whatever, they are nice and I hope they are used, too good to waste.

 

[launditch1]

Possibly for measuring rum ration on RN ships?