65/202

Kentish kibsey,

Gilbert Thomas Hambrook Nason (Manufacturer)

This fruit basket, for picking cherries, 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 two 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: willow (white); 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: 65/202 (2 Gallon Kent Kibsey) // Name of recorder: Mary Butcher // General construction method: Stake and strand // Overall shape: Round, with flat back, crowned base // Materials: White willow for base knot, bottom waling after upsett, slewing, handle bow. Palembang cane for base randing, 4-rod wale upsett (3 ends pricked in). // Base: 5 sticks shaved underneath for half of width, 2 ends from group of 3 held together in pairing. White knot rods start with butts & work out to tips then can randing. 1 1/2” (4cm) crown. // Sides: Stakes 19, the 2 base sticks together have 3. Cane upsett, 4 slyped ends pricked in, not pulled down, over 3 behind the wale. One complete row. 3 rod white willow wale starting with tips, butt join, then back to tips. Slew starts here with 1 rod, then 2 in next space, then 3 in 4th space. Most of height is 3 rod slew, occasionally 4. Slew to 7” from table (18cm). Insert extra stakes, thinner than originals, one to right of left back stake, other to left of right back stake. At back: rand pulling in edge stakes to leave a space, with a top, starting with a butt on centre stake of the 5. Weave until 1 ¾” (4.5cm) or 9” (23cm) at handle. Slewing the curved front: continue turning as necessary until 9” at slit and centre front. Slewing not rapped hard. Pair above slewing and randing and right across slits, starting with 2 butts to left of left-hand slit, and finishing there with tips. // Border: 5 rod behind 2 with square corners at the back. Stakes twisted to prick them down. Left corner – 3 into corner in split, 4 gathered up; corner formed by horizontal going into corner over 3 and out into next space, never gets partner and is used again. Left corner stake goes behind 2 and gets next gathered stake with it and then back to normal rhythm, using long stake so nothing is left in 1st space beyond corner. Right hand corner – 3 rods come down into space beyond the split, horizontal rod from split space forms corner after 3 are gathered up. Other gathered ones bent to help form corner. Started and finished at front handle, 1st rod turned down being 2nd to left of handle. Finished with 6 crams, no threading. // Handles: White willow handle bow, Palembang wrapping as on 65/204. From centre of flat back to centre front. Height from crown to bottom of handle 11 ½” (29cm). One cane, on one side, loops up through centre of border. // Lid: N/A // Dimensions: OM Outside Measures: Top at border handle to handle 12” (30.5cm); side to side at max 13” (33cm). IM Inside Measures at inside of border: handle to handle 10” (25.4cm); sides at max 10 1/3” (26.3cm). Height to top of border: At back handle 10” (25.5cm); front handle 10 ¼” (26cm); at sides 10” (25.5cm) // Anything else to note about this particular basket: Noticeably low handle. // Anything else to note about this type of basket: See 65/204., MERL 'Catalogue of baskets' form – 'NAME: BASKET, Cherry (G T H Nason) // Acc. No.: 65/202 // Group: HARVESTING FRUIT // Neg. no.: 60/8677 & 60/6199 // Place of origin: Canterbury. // Period in use: Present // DESCRIPTION // Materials: White willow. Cane handle & part of bottom weaving. // Shape and construction: Round but the upper side is flattened for about 4”. The weaving of the two parts – flat & round – returns on itself to make two vertical slits to take a strap. Side slewed. Border 5-behind-2. Handle roped, at centre of the flat side to opposite one. // Dimensions: Diameter top: 10 1/2” diam. bottom: 7 1/2” Height: 9” // Use: Picking cherries. 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. // 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)