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Water Cans and Handbowls


pete harrison

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1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

 

 

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

The flux tended not to work, and the solder chased around from place to place, refusing to "take" on the galvanising, and it was hard to persuade it to penetrate into the join.  I did get it watertight eventually, but the end result was far messier than I hoped, (and had used far more solder than I hoped!).

That sounds like it is as much to do with modern lead-free solder. It just doesn't flow like the old stuff.

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Some years ago I sourced half dozen miniature water cans which I duly decorated searching in some still packed boxes I came across one I still had (thought I had sold all) It is a true representation of a full size can with working lid ,handle, spout flap, etc. & fully decorated in the trad manner it is 5" high & base is 4'dia As I'm such a "numpty computer wise (& not learned how to put up photo's) if of any interest to any one if you message me your Email & I can send photos as attachments.  Thanks.

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I painted that can some 10 years ago, the owner was a boater at the time, living canal side on the Staffs and Worcs. I believe he sold the boat some years ago and the relationship didn’t last. Always interesting to see where painted stuff ends up, often far away from waterway locations. I’ve unearthed stuff in Cornwall, Ludlow and Church Stretton in recent years.

Dave

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4 hours ago, dave moore said:

I painted that can some 10 years ago, the owner was a boater at the time, living canal side on the Staffs and Worcs. I believe he sold the boat some years ago and the relationship didn’t last. Always interesting to see where painted stuff ends up, often far away from waterway locations. I’ve unearthed stuff in Cornwall, Ludlow and Church Stretton in recent years.

Dave

Do you recall the size of this Can as it is difficult to determine from photographs :captain:

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Whilst water cans may be one of the best advertisements for canal art, has any body looked at who made them for the boaters and if they were painted? Did the design evolve from a general use, or was it a specific design for boating use.

 

Also the supply of clean water was often obtained from the lock, I believe. Water supply for domestic use, now well established, was not the case in the early days of boating. People  often relied on the pump and the well. What changed this state of affairs were the Cholera epidemics and led to the setting up of local boards of Health, on a permanent basis. Water supplies in some cases, that had been private ventures, became the established function of the board of health and their successors the councils. Such changes in the provision of water became more common from the 1860's. 

 

Water was required for both domestic and industrial purposes and water companies came to supply both. In the early days, water supplies for domestic use might be rationed to specific hours, to allow for industrial use.

 

It is reasonable to see water cans on boats being a facet more of the period when families lived on them, rather than the early times when a mainly male work force operated the boats.

 

So were water cans the product of a Victorian age?

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1 hour ago, Ray T said:

No idea of dates, sorry but "proper Buckby cans", I am lead to believe, were made here at Buckby top lock.

Shop long since gone.

Buckby top.jpg

Canal store Buckby top lock.jpg

 

That is not my understanding Ray. They were definitely sold at the Buckby Lock shop but they were made in Birmingham. It is the same with Measham Tea Pots, they were sold at the shop next to the bridge in Measham but they were made in Church Gresley. Both items identified by working boatmen by the place they were sold, rather than where they were made. On the other hand Wheelock windlasses were both sold and made in Wheelock.

Edited by David Schweizer
  • Greenie 1
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Just now, David Schweizer said:

 

That is not my understanding Ray. They were definitely sold at the Buckby Lock shop but they were made in Birmingham. It is the same with Measham Teapos , they were sold at the shop next to the bridge in Measham but they were made in Church Gresley. Bth items identified by working bopatmen by the place they were sold, rather than where they were made. On the other hand Wheelock windlasses were both sold and made in Wheelock.

David, thank you for the correction.

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On my introduction to commercial boating in 1958 a good few boats were very "knocked about" & in some cases poor repair, the paint work was mainly non resistant on canal company's boats  BW (northern fleet) can't comment on southern boats as didn't come into contact with many seemed very loath to outlay on non essential upkeep, paint, fenders, cloths & rope  were only replaced if absolutely necessary & most cans were plain blue with on the deluxe versions the centre rib yellow  any tidying of the boat with regard to up keep was

from the hands/pockets of the steerer & depended on how proud he was in regard to his boats turnout ,the biggest number were very clean/tidy but well worn some smaller setups & No1's(very few) were better kept I think it mirrored the railways post WW2 as everything was at the limit of it's pre repairs worn past it's sell by date but very little money was available & as the canals the narrow ones were fading away no one wanted to outlay the cash  on what seemed a lost cause with the railways a seemingly better bet requiring lots of cash  but suffering a similar huge cutback some 5 years after I started boating Maybe a good thing the Gov didn' let Dr Beeching loose on the canal as all you boaters would be sitting on your craft on hard standings ?

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2 hours ago, Heartland said:

Whilst water cans may be one of the best advertisements for canal art, has any body looked at who made them for the boaters and if they were painted? Did the design evolve from a general use, or was it a specific design for boating use.

 

It is reasonable to see water cans on boats being a facet more of the period when families lived on them, rather than the early times when a mainly male work force operated the boats.

 

So were water cans the product of a Victorian age?

I think it highly probable that Water Cans were a product of the Victorian age, and as you say a time that pretty much coincided with family boating along with the improvements in drinking water quality. Certainly the Canal Boat Act 1877 stated the following requirement

 

"The boat shall be furnished with a suitable cask or other appropriate vessel or receptacle of sufficient capacity for the storage of not less than three gallons of water for drinking"  

 

Obviously this statement from the Victorian period is open to interpretation, and there were also regional variations of what a suitable cask or other appropriate vessel or receptacle means. The two most common that are visible in period photographs are a wooden barrel or a metal Water Can, with the former tending to more prevalent on northern waterways. Water Cans became very popular on narrow boats (and the wide boats of the southern Grand Junction Canal), and although their fundamental design is common they have minor differences from one manufacturer to another - a reflection perhaps that back in the day these items were fairly easy to produce locally by the multitude of tinsmiths / blacksmiths. In more recent times the number of Water Can manufacturers has dwindled considerably, and I think the only two to be in production now (excluding imported rubbish) are those by Ron Turner's son and those by Rose Narrowboats - both of whom manufacture in very low numbers.

 

Earlier drawings and etchings appear to indicate that there was no fresh water kept on the cabin top at the time when boats were predomenantly operated by men :captain:

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From Tony Lewery's Narrowboat painting.

 

In September 1858, the weekly magazine Household Words published a three part article, On the Canal by John Hollingshead. It gives us a perfect and clear proof that the tradition of Roses & Castles existed then and was already recognised as something out of the ordinary. Page 134

 

The water cans are kept on the port side just forward of the chimney, where they are accessible by standing in the slide and reaching round the chimney. Page 58

 

The large number of tradesmen there (Birmingham - Wolverhampton area) puts a different emphasis on the part of Household Words article which mentions "a new two gallon water can, shipped from a bankside painter's yard."  It is not necessarily a canal painter's' yard on the bank but it could be simply a painter's yard that happened to be on the canal bank. Page 37.

 

41RYOLJQaUL.jpg
Edited by Ray T
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I agree with Pete that the cans were a product were probably Victorian, I’ve seen a good few similar containers in antique centres over the years. The following pictures are of something similar from those or Edwardian times which I bought last year. It’s a 2 gallonish copper can, very like a canal water can save for the lack of a hinged lid on the top. As far as I can ascertain, these copper versions were hot water carriers, used to take water to the washstand from the kitchen or outhouse, wherever the source was. I remember the marble topped washstand, with its basin and jug, from my childhood. It could have been that L T C Rolt’s description of those at Long Buckby in Narrowboat fixed the name often used and applied mistakenly, in my opinion. Some of the last manufacturers were Birmingham based, as befits the “ City of a thousand trades..”

Dave

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22C49A29-0747-4A7C-844D-5D89EA79E9B5.jpeg

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Prior to water cans, the cask or barrel existed. But as they were more difficult to handle and carry, it would seem desirable to have a can similar to a churn, with a larger diameter bottom than top, and with a lid to keep out foreign bodies (and spittle from bridges), with a covered spout for pouring, a bit like an upturned bucket - and which could be carried easily. I wonder who made the first inroads to such a design?

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5 minutes ago, BWM said:

I have been watching this Can for a couple of days and I suspect there will be a rush of interest in the last few minutes of its auction. To me it is of little interest as it looks to be a 1 gallon Can, but the manufacture and painting would be of great interest if it were a larger version.

 

I have just taken delivery of a much newer but very nicely painted Can and Handbowl, but the Can has a small leak which is disappointing as it relegates it to a decorative item. Fortunately the Handbowl is a beauty and I suppose you can't win them all - so I am already pursuing another interesting looking Can :captain:

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On 03/06/2018 at 17:53, pete harrison said:

I have been watching this Can for a couple of days and I suspect there will be a rush of interest in the last few minutes of its auction.

I did not take part in this auction but I have just watched the last minute or so where it flew from £150.20 to 387.77 plus £6.00 postage - and this was the 'winners' first offer :captain:

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