Did everyone see tags or labels on purchased goods? Most often they contain information about the manufacturer, material, release date and much more. But, where did the idea come from hanging labels on goods?
What is a tag
Label (Swedish björk - birch) - originally it meant a processed stick of soft wood, most often such as birch. Hence the name of the tag. Such a stick was used for the initial fixation of material relations between people. When "signing" a tag, as an analogue of the current financial documentation, nicks were made on it over the entire width of the plate, after which vertical separation was made. As a result, each of the parties to the financial contract received its own copy. When the transaction was completed, the two halves of the stick provided by the parties to the material contract were docked, and then the final settlement took place.
The result of the repayment of the debt and its confirmation was the following: the two parts of the “contract” were joined together, after which new cuts were applied to them, which were direct confirmation that nobody owed anything to anyone. After such a simple operation, the tags returned to their owners again.
Since the personal data of participants in transactions were not indicated on the tags, they were an analogue of an anonymous bill of exchange as a financial document.
Such tags were used until the beginning of the twentieth century.
What is a tag: meaning in Western Europe and the Russian Empire
In modern Britain, the circulation of tags was legalized in the XI century AD under King Henry I, and they were canceled only in 1826. The English Bank Museum has a tag, the material value of which corresponds to the current 25 thousand pounds.
In the Russian Empire, particles of tags were tied to bags sent to the buyer with cereals, flour and other bulk solids. In this situation, the tags acted as a payment request. From this sphere of using tags, the word itself began to denote a label attached to the product.
Tag in the modern world
In the 21st century, a tag is nothing more than a business card for a product. So, if you think about what a tag on clothes is, it will become clear that this is a mandatory card on which the manufacturer is indicated, information on recommended care, warnings about what should not be done, information about the materials and their percentage ratio, as well as the place of production. The current tag is what indicates the legality of the product, as well as what kind of product it is.