63/597

Eigth cran herring basket,

Stanley Bird (Manufacturer)

This is an eighth cran herring basket, made by Stanley Bird, a basketmaker of Great Yarmouth for the Museum. These baskets were used by fishermen on shore to show a sample of the catch to customers. It is a round basket made of white willow and cane with eight slats of hazel, and has two roped handles. Unlike a quarter cran, an eighth cran was not an official government measure.

1 basket: white willow; cane

An order of 12 baskets from Stanley Bird (Basketware) Ltd. to Dorothy Wright, care of the Keeper at MERL. According to the delivery note, the order consisted of: 1 quarter cran; 1 small cran; 1 eighth cran; 1 oblong Hull lander; 1 oval Aberdeen lander; 1 liver basket; 1 ice basket; 1 trawl basket; 1 cobbing basket; 1 kipper basket; 1 wash basket; 1 eel pot., Stanley Bird (Basketware) Ltd. label: Eighth herring cran for sample of herring caught., MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: EIGHTH-CRAN HERRING BASKET (Stanley Bird) // Acc. No.: 63/597 // Group: FISHING. SEA. // Neg. no.: 60/5236 // Place of origin: Gt. Yarmouth. Norfolk. // Period in use: Present. // DESCRIPTION // Materials: White willow. Cane. Hazel. // Shape and construction: Round. Bottom 2 fitches. Upsett 2 rounds cane & 5 of willow. Side two fitches with cane. Stakes close together with 8 slats of hazel at intervals. Border 5-behind-2. 2 roped handles upright on the border in cane. BS. [number of bottom sticks] 7. St. [number of stakes] 26. Bi-St. [bye stakes] 18. Woods.8. // Dimensions: Diam. top: 13” Diam. bottom: 11” Height: 12” // Use: For showing samples of the catch to buyers. // Dialect names: // Distribution: // Additional notes:'

Great Yarmouth

1963

Wood, willow, white, Plant fibre, rattan

Wright, Dorothy (Recorder)