Isle of Man Steam Packet Company sick pail
Date made: early 20th century
Description: This object is an Isle of Man Steam Packet Company sick pail. It would have been issued to passengers in first class accommodation during rough crossings in the 1950s or perhaps earlier.
The object comprises a cream painted circular tin with applied base and a rolled top edge. It has an applied handle on side with the same rolled edge. The lid is concave with hole at the centre, and is hinged. There are slight traces of rust otherwise it appears to be unused.
The curious aspect of this object is that it was clearly made to be used and re-used, meaning that it would have been someone's job to clean it after it had been filled. By modern standards it is hard to imagine anyone taking this on as part of their daily duties, but also today one would expect something of this nature to be disposable after use. An interesting illustration of how attitudes differed in the past.
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Materials: metal
Object name: bucket
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1991-0130