# 1930's Whitall Tatum 12/15 Gallon Carboy in Original Crate - crate never opened!



## tk1968 (Jun 17, 2020)

At least until I opened it Monday night. I know you all have seen a lot of carboys. I bought this last weekend.  At the shop I asked the owner if the crate had ever been opened and they texted the owner and said they were not aware of it ever having been opened. So I rolled the dice and bought this sight unseen. I could move the bottle enough to be pretty sure it was not broken but I had no guarantees. All I knew is that it was a big bottle made by Whitall Tatum due to the lettering on the lip. When I started to try to open the crate I could tell the crate had never been opened. The nails were in like concrete. What I did no realize is that not only was the top nailed to the sides of the crate but there were also nailing boards that were inside the crate and each had about fifteen nails. So after about 3 hours I was able to finally allow this carboy to see the light of day. It was still in its original packaging. The crate itself had a patent number on it and that patent number was for crates carrying carboys with special packaging designed to handle trains and transport. So here are pics of what a carboy that has been in hiding for a 100 years looks like. Should I clean it or leave as is?


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## Troutmaster08 (Jun 17, 2020)

Wow, beautiful crate! If I were you I would not clean it because it does not appear to be the slightest bit diminished and seems well preserved.


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## nhpharm (Jun 18, 2020)

I'd put it back in the crate and leave as is.  It had never been taken out of the crate because it was not intended to be take out-these were intended to be used in the crate. That's a neat and unusual lip on the bottle-very cool.  Dupont bought the Grassell Chemical Co. in 1928, so I think your dating is right on.


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