I was poking around the Sandwich Antiques Center yesterday (which has become my go-to place for interesting gifts) and came across this fabulous Abercrombie and Fitch wicker picnic basket. It's empty and some of the leather strapping is missing, but the size and overall condition, not to mention the $20 price tag, made it a perfect buy for my office.
I'm not entirely sure if it's genuine, actually. Here are some full sets that have been listed on line:
via Nadeau's Auction
via Live Auctioneers
Wine basket via Ebay
via MG Experience
The picnic baskets date to the 1930's-60's and came fully stocked with everything you'd need for a great outdoor excursion. The reason I'm not entire sure it's genuine is just that some of the details are simply different than the handful of images I've found online. The three picnic baskets above have a rim on the base basket for the lid to fit over, while only the wine basket is like mine, where the top just rests on top of the bottom, however, mine is not tall enough to be the wine basket, nor does it have a wood bottom. My handle is plastic while the others are leather.
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. I didn't pay much and bought it for its vintage charm and useful storage capability.
I am using the basket to store current or recent client notebooks and keep them out of site until I need them. The other baskets and containers on this shelf hold more client notebooks, magazines, art supplies, paint chip palettes, etc. On the shelf above the picnic basket to the left is my late Father's leather camera bag, which probably dates to the 40's. I keep small items like remotes and the like in there.
Did you do any weekend scavenging?