Tobacco baskets have become popular decorative accents for many interiors. I made a 14" square basket using 1" flat reed following the traditional tobacco basket design. The shape of the basket was influenced by its early use in the harvesting and sales of tobacco .
Colonial Maryland history and tobacco production are linked. The demand for tobacco and the Chesapeake waterways allowed the product to be sent across the ocean to London and beyond. Southern Maryland farms grew tobacco, harvested the green leaves, cured them by hanging the leaves in open air tobacco barns. The leaves were tied into "hands" and laid into tobacco baskets made from split oak. The baskets kept the tobacco off the dirty floors. Stacks of the tobacco baskets were taken to auction market warehouse for sale. The open spaces of the basket weave allowed a hook to be attached to pull the baskets to the scales and to load the baskets onto trucks after the sale. Often the company name would be stenciled onto the edge of the basket. Today baskets are seldom used in warehouses. They have been replaced by burlap sheets.
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