2012/463/1-2

Sally Goymer (Maker)

Tomato basket made of buff willow. Made by Sally Goymer as a copy of a pre-1940 tomato basket which is now in the collections at Kew.
This is a tomato basket made of buff willow, with a cane rim around the lid. The basket is new and was made by Sally Goymer as a copy of a pre-1940 tomato basket which is now in the collections at Kew. Baskets of this type were used in Guernsey to transport 5.5kg of tomatoes from Guernsey to the English wholesale markets. The local Guernsey name for the baskets was 'casse à tomates'. The baskets were 'returnables' which were returned to the tomato growers once the tomatoes had been unloaded, ready to be used on another journey. They were used from the 1870s until the 1930s. After the Second World War they were replaced by non-returnable wood plank 'baskets' with a wood or metal handle. This basket was collected by Maurice Bichard, the author of 'Baskets in Europe' (published in 2008 by Fyfield Wick Editions), circa 2000, who obtained it directly from Sally Goymer.

1 tomato basket: willow; cane; good condition.

Maurice Bichard object form - 'Name: TOMATO BASKET (GUERNSEY) // MB ID: E617 // ... // Collection date: c2000 // Country: England // ... // Source - new, direct from maker, Made by Sally Goymer as a copy of the historic pre-1940 article (now in Kew collection) // Use: Carrying 5.5kg tomatoes from Guernsey to English markets; returned empty for multiple journeys // Materials: Buff willow, cane rim to lid (original in white willow) // Local name: casse à tomates // Description: Oval base (30 x 19cm); 45 x 26 at rim. Bow handle. Height 19cm, 30 to handle top. // Removable lid: oval 46 x 26cm, made on a cane hoop with gap across centre to fit over handle. // Notes: Hundreds of thousands were used up to 1940 (from late 19C) to carry the Guernsey glasshouse tomato crop by boat and train to the English markets. Returned empty (in bunches of 4) they were used for several journeys and stored over winter in warehouses. // Originals probably made in France - // Cross reference to books: Bichard (2008) pictures and story on pp62-63', Bichard, Maurice. 2008. Baskets in Europe. Abingdon : Fyfield Wick Editions. P62-63 - 'Although with careful handling in the home a willow basket can last a lifetime, those used as returnable containers sent from grower to market to retailer and back had much shorter lives. Estimates suggest 9-15 round trips which might be over in two years, or up to 20. Fishing baskets also received rough handling and had short lives. I was born and brought up on the Island of Guernsey whose major industry in the 1950s was still the growing of tomatoes under glass for shipment by boat and train to the wholesale markets in Britain. This had begun in the 1870s and until the 1930s the fruit was packed into oval arm baskets made in white willow with lids and holding 5.5kg. They were made in France then paint marked with the initials of the British salesmen, and hundreds of thousands were stored over winter. When needed, they were delivered to the growers, filled, labelled, the lids tied on, and taken to the harbour for loading and sea transport to ports on the English south coast, unloaded, and sent by rail all over England. The empties were then packed together in fours to save space and returned back up the distribution chain. This small example may illustrate the importance of the basketmaker and the scale of his activities. After World War II these containers were completely replaced by non-returnable wood plank 'baskets' with a wood or metal handle made up on the Island from imported timber.'

Cheltenham

Wood, willow, Plant fibre, rattan