A Genuine Court-Plaister.
This little packet (16cm long) contains a Georgian sticking plaster, dating from around 1780. It was made from silk or cotton, isinglass (a sticky substance made from the swimbladders of fish, namely sturgeon) and glycerine. Supplied in various sizes, it could be used as a piece, or cut to fit the damaged area. It was then slightly moistened and applied and quite literally, stuck.
Survivals like this little packet, complete with its dried out plaister are very rare, and it is intriguing to see the form in which it would have been purchased originally. How it could have been 'faked', I have no idea, and presumably, the very fact it came from London rendered it superior to provincial sticking plasters.
