The history of the humble Hamper
Here are some interesting facts about something we all take for granted.
A hamper is a primarily British term for a wicker basket, usually large, that is used for the transport of items, often food.
In North America, the term generally refers to a household receptacle for dirty clothing, regardless of its composition, i.e. “a laundry hamper”.
In agricultural use, a hamper is a wide-mouthed container of basketwork that may often be carried on the back during the harvesting of fruit or vegetables by hand by workers in the field. The contents of the hamper may be decanted regularly into larger containers or a cart, wagon, or truck.
The open ventilation and the sturdiness offered by a hamper has made it suitable for the transport of food, hence the use of the picnic hamper.
At one time it was common for laundry services to leave a large basketwork container with a lid which is now commonly referred to as a clothes hamper. The same type of container would be used to return clean clothing, which would be put away by the laundry service and the empty container left in place of the full container for later pickup.
This type of daily or bi-daily hamper service was most common with Chinese laundry services in 19th century England and America.
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