A butter stamp is a device for stamping a design onto a block of warm
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
. Butter stamps were sometimes commercial but usually purely decorative and applied in homes. They were typically made of wood and feature simple designs of cows, flowers or geometric patterns and, if commercial, the name of the retailer. Often, they formed part of a box-like mould for forming the whole block. Other designs achieved the same effect by carving the design at the bottom of a butter mould. Part of the intent for commercial moulds and stamps was to demonstrate consistency in the quantity of butter sold. Both moulds and stamps are now normally inexpensive
antiques.
Butter Stamps
Museum of Northern Ireland
References
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Butter
Antiques
Wood products
Design