Wooden crate for transporting books
Date made: c.1930
Description: This crate was used by the Isle of Man Education Authority to transport books to and from rural libraries, in the 1920s or 1930s.
The crate is made of wood with a hinged lid. inside the lid is pasted a paper label with instructions for staff of the rural libraries as to how the system of lending books is to work. The label warns that precautions must be taken for infections diseases: in the case of smallpox, books returning from an infected home must be burnt. In the case of scarlet fever or diptheria the book must be left in the affected house to be disinfected by the sanitary authorities.
The label testifies to the fact that in this era, prior to modern antibiotics and vaccines, these diseases were a serious threat to public health.
Measurements: 50 x 57 x 20.5 cm
Materials: metal: iron, paint:oil, wood: composite
Object name: box
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 2005-0261