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Abstract
The information in this article has been compiled after a visit to Jack Rowsell of Tiverton, Devon in June 1991. He is one of the last Devon splint basket makers. The tape of the interview with Mr Rowsell is held in the Oral Archive at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury. Their help in recording the information is gratefully acknowledged.
HISTORY: A basket is generally defined as a wickerwork vessel of plaited osiers, twigs or similar flexible material. However, the Devon splint basket is a sturdy, wooden container of a very different construction and is more akin to the Sussex trug.
Information about the history of this type of basket is sparse. Until this year there was only one example in the collections at the Museum of English Rural Life, University ofReading. One photograph in their print library shows a similar basket but with spaces between the staves. The latter was made by a basket maker near Crediton in Devon.