Filming baskets

by Adam Jones-Lloyd My filming adventure with the Basketry Then and Now project began in June 2016 with what started as a one-off trip to The Museum of English Rural Life in Reading. However, this wa...

Pigeons in War – and pigeon baskets in war

by Greta Bertram Last month I visited the Royal Pigeon Racing Association’s Pigeons at War exhibition at Bletchley Park and met with Colin Hill from the RPRA to find out more about First World War pi...

Cane for shell baskets: Industrial processing

by Mary Crabb As I had found out when making a replica shell basket from the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL 90/43), processing of cane by hand is a slow and long process (see my previous post). I...

Research skills development session for basketmakers

by Daniel Carpenter On 24th April, nine basketmakers from across Devon and Cornwall met at the Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter for an introduction to the research facilities available to individuals ...

Basketmakers’ Lists of Sizes and Prices

by Greta Bertram I do not know their origins, but since at least 1850 various basketmaking associations, such as the Journeymen Skip, Basket, and Hamper Making Society, the London Union of Journeymen...

Cane for shell baskets: Processing by hand

by Mary Crabb I ended my previous post about the recreation of a World War One artillery shell basket seen at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL 90/43) with a question about how to process the ca...