The Folding Camp Bucket by the Planet Co.

The north woods camper looks upon these things , Ready – made such as folding chairs , table , shelves , and Furniture the like , with some disdain on account of their bulk . If you change camp often it is a bother to carry them , and if you make a permanent home most of them can be manufactured with the axe . ( See Making Camp ) . One exception is perhaps the folding brown – duck water – pail .

The folding canvas water basin or bucket was a common sight in the campgrounds of the early 20th century. Even the national U.S. Forestry Service issued them for their practical use. The folded down down bucket is light weight and takes up tremendously little space. This was a practical solution for motor campers whose light weight cars had to consider every ounce but also, another great consideration was the possible need to refill the car’s radiator. There were even special metal folding lids created to be used with the canvas buckets to help filter out debris that may have been collected from a nearby stream or water source.

Some uses besides the obvious for carrying water include washing dishes or yourself, collecting peelings or other refuse, collecting tinder, or even wild edibles. Perhaps you want to also collect your catch of the day from your fishing trip!

Upon assisted research from Mr. Jim Poe, I have found out that my pail was made by the Planet Company from Westfield Mass. The patent number that is now unreadable was 639882. It is 10 1/4 inches in diameter on the top. The bottom is 9 inches in diameter. It opens up to be 5 1/2 inches in height and collapses to 1 1/2 inches.