Baker’s Sledge

Description

This baker’s sledge from ca. 1890 would have been used to deliver bread, cakes and pastries in winter. In those days, it was normal for both bakers and butchers to deliver their wares by handcart, barrow, or bicycle in summer and by sledge in winter – at least to their better-off customers. This baker’s sledge belonged to the bakery A. Schaupp of Hardstrasse 66 in Basel. We know this from the name painted onto the lid of the large box mounted on the chassis. Having been painted yellow on the outside, the box was treated with linseed oil on the inside to prevent the bread from taking on the odour of the paint. As the bread was dispatched while still warm, the two rows of slits would have served to cool it down en route. The little box mounted on the rear would have been used for order chits or the day’s takings. No handles for pulling or pushing this sledge have survived, although there are holes indicating that it would have been pulled by a strap worn round the waist. This very fine example of a commercial sledge for distributing food was gifted to the museum in 1989 by a baker who took over the bakery business on Hardstrasse.