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Feast Your Eyes: Perched Atop a Bottle of Bubbly

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Ringing in the New Year with a glass of champagne? Just as many holidays are associated with certain festive foods, New Year’s Eve has long seen many folks around the world enjoying a taste of that fizzy drink.

This 1904 photo suggests one way to top off a bottle of bubbly, but I think I’ll stick with pouring the contents in a glass and raising it in hopes of a happy healthy New Year for all!

Model posed wearing black pressed pleats, top hat, and ballet shoes, standing tip-toe on champagne bottle. Photo copyrighted by Ye Rose Studio, 1904. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b03473
Model posed wearing black pressed pleats, top hat, and ballet shoes, standing tip-toe on champagne bottle. Photo copyrighted by Ye Rose Studio, 1904. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b03473
Ship launching in Portland, Maine. Eight vessels slid into the water in a record breaking launching August 16, 1942, at a large New England shipyard. Christening five cargo-carrying ships built for Britain at the mass launching. Photo by Albert Freeman, August 1942. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b07490
Ship launching in Portland, Maine. Eight vessels slid into the water in a record breaking launching August 16, 1942, at a large New England shipyard. Christening five cargo-carrying ships built for Britain at the mass launching. Photo by Albert Freeman, August 1942. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b07490

Learn More:

  • Breaking a bottle across the bow during a ship christening is another long-standing tradition which often involves a bottle of champagne. The ladies to the right are at the ready to christen five ships in a mass launch during World War II.
  • Explore the varied results of a search for champagne in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.  Amongst the images are an assortment of advertisements, posters, photos of champagne being made, stored and enjoyed, as well as photos of the Champagne region in France.
  • Enjoy images related to New Year’s Eve as you welcome 2014!

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