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Posted: **20:06 Tue 07 Oct 2014**

A little drinking history that was edging towards being forgotten:

On 22 March 1943, on the first page of the catalogue, so above lot 1, Christies wrote:
NOTICE
THE WINE AND SPIRITS (PROHIBITION OF AUCTION SALES) ORDER, 1942.

As only Licensed Dealers as deﬁned in this order may purchase at a Wine and Spirits Auction, intending bidders must prove to the satisfaction of the Auctioneer, either before the auction or at the time of sale, that they are Licensed Dealers or are acting on behalf of one.

On 22 March 1943, below the Conditions Of Sale, Christies wrote:
STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS.
1942 No. 1271
EMERGENCY POWERS (DEFENCE)
Food (Wine and Spirits)
The Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942
Dated June 30, 1942
——————
In exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Regulation 55 of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939, as amended, and of all other powers him enabling, the Minister of Food hereby makes the following Order:—
  1. In this Order—
    “The Minister” means the Minister of Food.
    “Licensed dealer” means a person holding any excise licence authorising him to sell wine or spirits by wholesale or by retail.
  2. Except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted to him by or on behalf of the Minister, no person shall sell any wine or spirits by auction.
  3. A licence granted under this Order shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other licence which a person selling wine or spirits by auction may be required by law to hold, and shall not operate to relieve the licensee from any obligation or restriction which may be imposed upon him by law.
  4. Every person holding a licence granted under this Order shall keep or cause to be kept at some convenient place an accurate record of all sales by auction by him of wine and spirits, such record to include in each case particulars identifying the person on whose behalf be sold, and the person to whom he sold, wine or spirits, and particulars of the quantities and description of wine or spirits sold and the prices paid.
  5. Except under the authority of the Minister, a licensed dealer who has purchased any wine or spirits at a sale by auction shall not re-sell such wine or spirits or any part or quantity thereof to any other licensed dealer who is the holder of an excise licence similar to that held by the ﬁrst-mentioned licensed holder.
  6. No person shall sell or cause to be sold by auction any wine or spirits purchased after the date of the coming into force of this Order by any person at a sale by auction, and no person shall sell except at a reasonable price any wine or spirits purchased by any person at a sale by auction.
  7. Every person holding a licence or authorisation granted under this Order shall comply with every condition imposed by such licence or authorisation.
  8. This order shall not apply to the sale of wine any [sic] or spirits in respect in respect of which a sale by auction has been advertised before the date of the coming into force of this Order, and held before the 22nd day of July, 1942.
  9. Infringements of this Order are offences against the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939.
  10. This order shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 1942, and may be cited as the Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942.
  By Order of the Minister of Food.
H. L. French
Secretary to the Ministry of Food.
Dated the 30th day of June, 1942.
Order, dated January 15, 1943, amending the Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942.
The Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942(a), shall be amended by inserting at the end of Article 5 thereof the following proviso:—
“Provided that the restriction imposed by this Article shall not apply to the re-sale by any licensed dealer holding both a wholesale and a retail excise licence of any wine or spirits purchased by him at a sale by auction to another licensed dealer holding a retail excise licence only.”
(a) S.R. & O. 1942 Order No. 1271.

The same Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942 was quoted for the auction of 16 June 1943, without the word-order error in §8. So presumably that error was Christie’s rather than the Ministry of Food’s.
(Pictures 22893 to 22898.)

Perhaps the 1943 Amendment was caused by this discussion reported in Hansard.

On 5 July 1943, on the first page of the “Catalogue of Choice Wines, Spirits, Liqueurs and Cigars, Presented to The Duke of Gloucester’s Fund for The British Red Cross Society and The Order of St. John of Jerusalem”, so above lot 1, Christies wrote:
NOTICE.
The Wine & Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942
Under a Special Licence granted by the Ministry of Food to the Auctioneers for the Auction,
It is permitted for Private Persons to Bid and Purchase.

(Pictures 22928 to 22932.)

Posted: **20:31 Tue 07 Oct 2014**

Presumably the purpose of The Wine and Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales) Order, 1942 was to prevent evasion of the rules relating to rationing.

Also see Wikpedia’s Minister of Food (United_Kingdom).

There isn’t much on google.

Edit:

jdaw1 wrote: ↑13:54 Tue 30 Dec 2014Just to keep the links together, here is a pointer to Wine & Spirits (Prohibition of Auction Sales), 1942.

From the auction by Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd., on 16 June 1943.

(Reproduced by kind permission of Christie’s; my picture #22911.)