When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
This is an authentic mid-19th-century antique spun brass bucket.
It is a highly collectible piece of American industrial history manufactured by prominent firms like the Waterbury Brass Co. or the Ansonia Brass Co..
The Story Behind the Piece
The Invention: Before this item was made, brass kettles and pails were painstakingly hammered into shape by hand out of flat metal plates.
In December 1851, an inventor named Hiram Washington Hayden patented a revolutionary metal-spinning machine.
His machine pressed a flat disk of sheet brass against a spinning wooden mold while smooth levers shaped it into a flawless, rounded bucket.
Identifying Features: You can identify a Hayden bucket by the faint horizontal lines wrapping around the exterior, which were left behind by the spinning process.
They also feature slightly rounded or convex bases and heavy iron bail handles secured with solid copper rivets.
Dating the Bucket: The original patent was granted on December 16, 1851.
Because your bucket includes subsequent post-Civil War extension and reissue dates (such as December 15, 1865, or February 13, 1866), it can be precisely dated to between 1866 and the early 1870s.
Historical Value & UseIn the 1800s, these rugged pails were everyday utilitarian items used for cooking, making apple butter, or holding warm fireplace ashes.
Today, they are prized by collectors as rustic farmhouse decor, kindling holders, or unique planters.
Antique H.W. HAYDEN Patent December 16,1851 Waterbury BRASS BUCKET Kettle Bucket
* H.W. HAYDEN Patent December 16,1851 - Hallmark
* Measurements - 8.5” Height & 12” length & width
* Gorgeous Design
* I filled it with water and it held
