This is an old oaken wooden bucket that I bought for $10 at the local Salvation Army.
It was hand made by a “Wet” cooper from six oak staves carefully carpentered and held together by grooves and tiny dowels and two hammered steel metal rings. It must have been relatively expensive in the 1800’s because of the precise construction necessary to be watertight.
There’s a spigot hole near the bottom. The bucket’s most likely use was to draw water from a well.
This bucket was probably made between 1830 and 1860. Starting in 1837 wood buckets began to be replaced by sheet metal pails made in factories because they were much less expensive.
In turn the metal pails began to be replaced by plastic ones starting in the1960’s.
People loved their wells and buckets. In 1817 Samuel Woodworth wrote a famous poem called The Old Oaken Bucket. Let me quote a couple of the sentimental lines:
“And dripping with coolness it rose from the well. The old oaken bucket, the iron bound bucket. The moss-covered bucket arose from the well ”
(Editor’s note: Palisades resident Howard Yonet has an interesting collection of curios from around the world and with his permission, Circling the News is publishing one a week. About the collector: Dr. Howard Yonet was born in Brooklyn in 1934 and attended Brooklyn College. He went to Baylor Medical School and then returned to do an internship at Bellevue Hospital. Yonet completed his residency at the Manhattan V.A. and the Montefiore Hospital. During this time he went skiing in Vermont and the Catskills, and while traveling found barns filled with early American pieces. This led to his interest in American Antiques.
In 1965, he married Daniele, who was originally from Nancy, France. During the Vietnam War, Yonet was drafted as a medical officer and stationed in Landstuhl, Germany (1966-1969). This was close to the French border, which meant he and Daniele and could visit her family.
While abroad, the Yonets took weekend trips through France and Italy, purchasing many interesting pieces at flea markets.
The family settled in Pacific Palisades in 1970 and Yonet practiced general radiology until 2006. He continued to acquire antiques and collectables at estate and garage sales and the Salvation Army Store. He also enjoyed looking for collectibles while traveling in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Massachusetts. Daniele’s family helped add to his collection.)
Love it! Especially the ‘quotes’ from the poem. Oh, how it brought back memories of my Mother reciting some of those lines. Thank you, Howard.