Object number
93/35/1
Description
A zinc osier token inscribed ‘WAB’ and used by William Albert Brown, from the 19th C.. The family owned osier beds in Woolhampton, Berkshire.
This zinc osier token is inscribed ‘WAB’. It was used by William Albert Brown, the donor’s grandfather, and dates from the nineteenth century. The donor’s family owned osier beds in Woolhampton, Berkshire. Osier tokens were given to the women who stripped the willow – after collecting a bundle of osiers they received a token which was then exchanged for money once they had stripped the osiers.
Physical description
2 osier tokens: metal; good condition
Archival history
MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – ‘Associated information: George Brown's family were all in the osier growing business. They owned 15 acres of osier beds in Woolhampton. These are not harvested anymore and are now an S. S. I. // The tokens were given to the women who did the stripping. After collecting a bundle of osiers they then collected a token. The tokens were exchanged for money after they had stripped the osiers. // George Brown was 70 years old in 1992.’
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