What is a collector of champagne capsules called?
What is placomusophilia?
Placomusophilia is the art of collecting ‘museau’ plates. These are the small circular metal plates that sit on top of bottles of champagne, sparkling wine and even cider. The ‘museau’, often called a ‘champagne cap’, is customised by the champagne house, which makes the collection particularly interesting.
The history of placomusophilia
We have to go back to the 19th century to discover the origins of champagne capsules. The date 5 July 1844 is a pivotal moment in the history of placomusophilia: on that day, Adolf Jaxson filed a patent application with the Ministry of Agriculture. He worked for the family business, Jacquesson & Fils, and was constantly seeking to improve champagne-making techniques. It was thus that he invented the ‘muselière’ cap, a cap that improved the seal of the cork. The muselet would never again be separated from the cork of a bottle of champagne. Today, manufacturers personalise these caps, which can also serve as advertising media. Who are placomusophiles and what do they collect? Placomusophiles are adults or children keen to collect these muselet caps. Just like stamp collectors or those who collect banknotes, coins and even postcards, the vast majority of placomusophiles seek out rare gems – vintage pieces to complete their collections, such as rare and precious champagne flutes. Champagne capsules are the most famous and the most valuable. However, many bottles filled with fizzy drinks also have such caps. This is the case with bottled cider, sparkling wine or mousserant. There are no rules in muselet collecting: the important thing is to have fun, whether you’re collecting champagne muselets or beer bottle caps.
How do you collect muselet caps?
Caps are useful items, much like stamp collections. They have become little works of art, some of which are highly sought after. With over 30,000 muselet caps in existence, how do placomusophiles organise their collections? Here again, collectors follow their own instincts and adhere to no set rules. For example, some may specialise in caps from a particular champagne house. You could also choose to focus on a specific era, region or country. There is a wide variety of caps, some of which feature illustrations. In that case, why not collect caps whilst exploring themes such as nature or specific champagne houses?
A few tips for getting started with placomusophily
Are you interested in placomusophilia and keen to start a collection? The first thing to do if you want to get started is to get hold of your first sheet of muselet caps. As well as browsing online retailers or visiting car boot sales, don’t forget to let your friends and family know that you’re starting to collect. That way, your loved ones can save the capsules from champagne or other sparkling drinks! Also worth noting is the reference for placomusophiles: the comprehensive catalogue of champagne wire cage plates – the 2016 Lambert catalogue
Store and organise your cap collection properly
To display, sort and store your cap collection, there’s a wide range of binders, display cases and other boxes available for showcasing your precious sparkling wine caps . Organisation is key: remember to regularly categorise your new acquisitions according to your favourite themes. Finally, you can store the muselet plate in a specific binder or photo album. Your collected capsules will be perfectly protected.
What do you call a collector of champagne capsules?
Enthusiasts of collecting rare items share a common passion. There are many items to collect, such as stamps, playing cards, banknotes and champagne bottle caps. Some people with this interest focus on the art of collecting bottle caps, which is known as placomusophilia.
People with placomusophilia derive sexual pleasure from plastic. There are two types of placomusophilia: tactile and visual. People with this paraphilia tend to feel the urge to rub, touch or stroke plastic in some way, or to look at it. They may also combine both urges, looking at the plastic whilst touching it, or smelling it whilst looking at it.
Champagne, beer and sparkling wine all have muzzle caps or champagne capsules at the top of the bottle. Some people collect these metallic, spherical objects. This is known as placomusophilia. People who love champagne-coloured muzzle caps are called placomusophiles. These are the most commonly collected muzzle caps.
There are no set rules for collecting caps. A placomusophile will look for caps in specialist magazines or online. They will appreciate the appearance and value of the caps, then add them to their collection. Some third-party suppliers also sell capsules. The older and rarer the capsule, the more money it is worth. The owner may choose to store the capsule in a display case, in an album or in drawers.
The history of placomusophily began on a small scale but has grown over time.
On 5 July 1844, Adolphe Jacquesson filed a patent for an improved champagne capsule with the French Ministry of Agriculture. His invention created a tight seal between the metal cap and the cork, using twisted wire to hold the metal cap in place.
Originally, all bottles of Champagne had a capsule labelled on the outside with the brand name. Since then, every Champagne producer has personalised their capsules so that their brand is recognisable. It was then that the collecting of champagne capsules began, and people came to be known as ‘placomusophiles’. Originally, the term was used only by Claude Mailliard in Vertus in the 1980s. Every year on 11 November, champagne cap collectors exchange the caps they have collected in Vertus. This began in the 1990s and continues to this day.
Collecting champagne bottle caps
There are now more than 30,000 different caps on the market. Each colour variation represents a new cuvée, much to the delight of collectors. Placomusophilia was born, and several varieties of capsules have been available ever since. Some capsules are made exclusively for collectors. They are given names that are easy to remember.
Some people enjoy collecting caps, whilst others enjoy collecting different types of caps. Another group of placomusophiles are serious collectors, who seek out rare items and base their collections around a theme. Placomusophiles may focus on collecting bottle caps from a single manufacturer. Their search might take longer and the bottle caps would be more expensive. They use the Placomusophile’s Bible to find the items they collect.
Champagne capsule collections are organised in a specific way.
Preserving champagne capsules for the long term is important for collectors, so they must store them with care. Collectors may organise their capsules by:
The theme can be anything (celebrities, animals, vineyards, crests, etc.).
Champagne brands and houses are listed in alphabetical order.
The colours of the capsules can be black, brown, red or purple.
The material from which the product is made.
How the product is made.
The machine can also sort champagnes by vintage or by the shape of the bottle caps.
What should you bear in mind when grouping bottles of champagne?
When storing capsules, it is important to sort them into groups so that you can find them easily, if you are collecting several capsules.
A binder is used to hold the capsules together.
Collectors appreciate the large capacity of this storage unit. They can store 250, 300 or even 400 capsules inside the organiser. The dividers in the organiser help keep the capsules in place. This organiser is brilliant because if you collect more items, you can add more dividers. It can also be moved easily around the office.
Carrying case
Champagne capsule carrying cases have a lock to protect your items from theft and a handle for carrying the case. Inside are plastic dividers to hold the capsules in place.
The display was presented in a showcase.
Some people want to display their precious collection of champagne bottles in a display cabinet. The display cabinet consists of a glass lid resting on velvet platforms, where the bottles are stored.
It is an elegant box with a large capacity, so you can easily store a large number of champagne capsules in it. This box serves as a decorative feature and can add character to a room.
The capsules are transported in a box comprising several velvet platforms. The boxes can be stacked and are covered with a protective film to keep the capsules safe.
More and more people are becoming collectors of champagne capsules. Lovers of fine spaces and surroundings are investing time in searching for special capsules to complete their collections, whether they are novice or seasoned collectors.
