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THE ANCIENT TRADE OF COOPERING
Spring 2001
Coopering is the ancient art or trade of making wooden containers for various uses. There were three levels of skill in coopering. The most difficult and refined was wet coopering.
The wet cooper made containers that held liquids under pressure for an extended length of time. Wet coopering required the best quality wood available and took the highest skill level.
Breweries still utilize wet coopers to manufacture special containers such as French oak barrels for the fermentation process of wine and other liquors.
Courtesy Dover Publishing
White Coopers manufactured many items besides
containers. Here wooden shoes are shown beside the bucket in a detail
from a 19th century engraving entitled "The White
Cooper"
White coopering is the oldest form of cooperage skill. The word “white” in “white coopering” refers to the white goods held in these containers, such as milk and flour. Dairies used wooden buckets as milk pails. The general store had containers, which held flour and various household products. White coopers sealed these containers to hold liquids.
The dry cooper made boxes and casks to hold small items for shipping. These containers were the forerunner of the cardboard box and were used to hold nails, apples, grease, lard, tools and other similar items. Dry coopers used the lowest quality of wood since the containers were usually thrown away after shipping. This form of coopering took the least skill.
Compiled from The Cooper and His Trade by Kenneth Kilby.
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Copyright 2001 by Beaver Buckets & Jeremy Gaster all rights reserved.