December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Prior to 1810, a British artisan-inventory had developed a system of machinery by which he could cut and form all of the component pieces of wood, as well as assemble them into finished canteens, thereby cutting the time and expense of hand-coopering, as such had previously been made. The mass-produced water bottles were made with oak faces or sides, with flat staves cut and inlet with grooves, allowing them to function similarly to the shaped staves made by traditional coopering, all held together by iron bands. This new methodology was a boon to the Quartermaster General, who needed to acquire tens of thousands of water bottles on an annual basis to equip British and allied troops in the field. This British water bottle is painted black and regimentally marked in white paint: "VII / G / 38." PROVENANCE: Purchased from a British collector in 2006. CONDITION: Very good overall, one face slightly warped inwards.