65/204

Kentish kibsey,

Gilbert Thomas Hambrook Nason (Manufacturer)

This fruit basket, for picking plums and pears, is of a type known as the ‘Kentish kibsey’. The word kibsey is believed to derive from the Romani ‘ripsi’. It was made by G. T. H. Nason, who made baskets to order for fruit farmers in Kent. This is a three gallon flat-back kibsey, common in East Kent. It is a round basket, made of white willow and cane, with one part-flattened side from which the roped handle passes to the opposite side. It can be strapped to the waist, with a strap passing through the two slits in the flat side, enabling the picker to have both hands free. These baskets were never used with a ladder.

1 basket: white willow; cane

MERL Miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 7–8 October 2014 – Mary Butcher questioned Dorothy Wright’s statement that these baskets were never used with a ladder. A closer examination of Dorothy Wright’s ‘Catalogue of Baskets’ form indicates that the text originally said ‘older people liked it when on a ladder’, which has then been crossed out and changed (in Dorothy’s handwriting) to ‘older people liked it but never used on a ladder’., Visiting researcher note, Mary Butcher (basketmaker), 7–8 October 2014 – Nason was blind, and stopped work in 1967. The kibseys made by him in the MERL collection have never been used. Packing a kibsey so that it contained the right volume of fruit was a skill in itself. Mary was taught that a ‘kibsey’ was specifically a flat-backed basket, but Dorothy Wright did speak to Nason, so the definition of a kibsey may vary., MERL ‘Stakeholders’ recording form, October 2014 – Object number: 65/204 (3 Gallon Kent Kibsey) // Name of recorder: Mary Butcher // General construction method: Stake and strand // Overall shape: Round with flat back. Cross handle centre back to centre front. Flow on curve, not on flat back. // Materials: White willow. Palembang cane for base, first round, a bit of upsett and for wrapping handle. // Base: Round sticks 3 x 2 + ½ which is butt from the centre knot and thinner than the others. Others are thin sticks. Knot rods paired out to tips. Cane used for randing. 11 ends of base sticks at edge. Diameter 9” (22.8cm). Slight crown. Outside measure after upsett 10” (25.5cm). // Sides: 21 stakes in 7-foot willow. 1 is alone by centre stick of group of 3. Upsett – cane, 3-rod (1 pricked into base between stick and stake, other 2 form a loop). Just over 1 round and a butt join to white willow. These run out to tips. Slewing – 3- and 4-rod with tops, starting with one on left of flat side, building up to 2 rods on back, then round curve to 3 and 4. Flows out to Inside Measure (IM) of 10” (25.5cm) at outside height of 8” (20.3cm) where slits begin, at handle to handle. Side to side maximum width at this height is 11.5” (29.3cm). Slewing tops are thicker and longer towards the top of basket. Back kept flat from the upsett. Slewing not rapped down hard. 2 extra stakes, with long slypes, are inserted beside the back edge stakes, both times leaving original stakes to become part of the circular section. Wedges driven in (thin sticks) to separate extras and original stakes to force them apart for the slits. Back – randed, keeping the stakes at the edges (extras) straight this time. 2” (5cm) of randing on back, continuing flow of flat side. 1.6” (4cm) of slewing round circular section. Border immediately above slew. Last row of slew goes above slits. Depth of slit under border is 1 ¾” (4.5cm). // Border: 5 rod behind 2. Square corners at back. Starts to left of centre of curved section as looked at from the outside. 7 crams at finish. Twisted rods high above border, 1/2” (1.2cm) so prominent. Left-hand corner (1st one worked) – 3 down between corner stakes (the 2 either side of the slit), 3 gathered up into 2 corner stakes and outside one forms the corner, goes into the corner, behind the next out and stays alone. Corner stakes both come down behind 2 when appropriate. Horizontal stake next to left corner stake goes in front of only 2 and behind 1 and gets left corner stake as partner. This one is bent (twisted) to emphasise the straight line across the back. Right-hand corner – the 3 come down in the space beyond the 2 corner stakes. 5 horizontal stakes are gathered up – the one to the left of the left stake of the slit (the extra) is the 1st one bent to form the corner. It is bent level with the right-hand stake of the slit edges. Both the stakes emerging from the slit are used to form the corner, 1st the one that has travelled furthest, then the thicker one, then the thickest of the remaining pair is used just round the corner to go into the curve of the front. The second space from the split (the one next to the corner) never gets a partner and is used again. No threading, just cramming, at end of border, the 4th cram being at the handle. Start of border at 6th stake from right-hand corner on curve. // Handles: Centre back stake to centre front. Kubu can handle bow ¾” (1cm) diameter. Slyped at both ends and inserted to left on bent stakes each side 5.25” (14cm) down both sides. Wrapped with 2 pieces Palembang cane, slyped and pricked in 5.25” (13.3cm) down, one each side. Each taken 3 times and goes from outside to inside with gap between it and handle, up again touching itself. Goes in from outside to inside again on other side, between handle and slyped beginning of the cane. Goes round, again touching last turn, comes back finally and tucks in. 3 turns on outside of border on the side where it ends, and 3 on the other side. One cane ends each side. // Lid: N/A // Dimensions: OM (Outside Measure) width at top, handle to handle 13 ½” (34.4 cm); at max. width 14 ½” (36.8cm). IM (Inside Measure) of border at top handle to handle 10 5/8” (27cm); at max. width border to border 11 ¾” (30cm). IM at top of slewing, handle to handle 11” (28cm). IM at max width at top of slewing 12” (30.5cm). IM width at base of slits, handle to handle 10 ¾” (27.8cm); at max. at this level 11 ¼” (28.5cm). Height from table to base of slit 8” (20.3cm). Total height below border at back 10” (20.5cm); at front 10” (20.5cm); at max. width at sides also 10” (20.5cm). Height to top of border, back at handle 11 ¼” (28.6cm); front at handle 11 ¼” (28.6cm); at both sides 11” (28cm). IM below handle to crown 13 ¼” (33.8cm); to top of handle from crown 14 ¼” (36cm). // Anything else to note about this particular basket: – // Anything else to note about this type of basket: Cobtree Manor, Kent (Brook Museum, Wye, Kent?), MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: Basket, plum // Acc. No.: 65/204 // Group: HARVESTING. FRUIT // Neg. no.: 60/6198 // Place of origin: Canterbury // Period in use: Present // DESCRIPTION // Materials: White willow. Cane handle & part of bottom weaving. // Shape and construction: 5 sticks + 1 bye-stick. 21 stakes. 3 rounds upset. Round but the upper side is flattened for about 5”. The weaving of two parts – flat & round – returns on itself to make two vertical slits to take a strap. Side slewed. Border 5-behind-2. Handle roped, from the centre of the flat side to the opposite one. // Dimensions: Diameter top: 12 1/2” Diam. bottom: 9” Height: 10” // Use: Picking plums & pears. It may be strapped to the waist, the strap passing through the two slits in the flat side when the picker has both hands free. Older people like it but never used on a ladder. Good for dwarf trees. // Dialect names: Kibsey or Ripsey. Kentish slang ([Dorothy] Wright) Romani – Ripsi // Distribution: East Kent. Special orders. // Additional notes:'

Canterbury

1930-01-01 - 1965-12-31

Mid-twentieth century

Wood, willow, white, Plant fibre, rattan

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)
Butcher, Mary (Recorder)