December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
A very nice example of the Revolutionary War canteen of stave construction approximately 7 inches in diameter by 3 1/2 inches wide. The talented cooper who made this canteen used white cedar and the staves are wide, but so nicely worked and fitted that it took only 5 to completely encircle the two faces, which were then bound with interlocking hoops of hickory, making a water-tight container that was also light and less susceptible to rot, by the nature of the wood. During its period use, one of the original hoops was replaced with a band of forged iron. The canteen appears to have been painted, put which is rather worn and appears a dark greenish caste today. Carved on one face are two large sets of the letter "A H", probably the initials of the soldier. On the opposite face is a somewhat indistinct set of numbers or figures: "IIVI /II", which may be unit markings. PROVENANCE: Acquired from Bill Gavin in 1998 who found it along the NH-VT border in the 1950s. CONDITION: Very good as found and described above.