Key Basket
Tooled and stitched leather with red leather lining
Marked – Cottrell and Company
Richmond, Virginia
C. 1870
Samuel S. Cottrell (c 1819 – 1903) operated the S.S. Cottrell Saddlery Company on East Main Street in Richmond for some fifty years until his retirement around 1895. His key baskets were sometimes marked with an embossed stamp on the underside of the basket bottom. Characteristic of the key baskets produced in his shop were a “canoe” form, stitched decorative patters and red leather linings on some models.
This fine example of a mid 19th Virginia key basket was found in a Southampton County estate.
