Nantucket Lightship Basket Attributed to C. Mitchy Ray, circa 1940

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Nantucket Lightship Basket Attributed to C. Mitchy Ray, circa 1940

About the Item

3" Small round Nantucket lightship basket with Oak staves and swing handle. Great condition with a deep honey patina. Attributed to Clinton Mitchell “Mitchy” Ray (1877-1956) Mitchy learned how to make Nantucket Lightship Baskets as a young boy working with his grandfather Charles B. Ray, a highly regarded mariner and prolific basket weaver. Unlike his grandfather and his father Charles F. Ray, Mitchy never went to sea. He is remembered as an Island character with a reputation of being wild in his younger years. At one point he saved a man from drowning at Surfside earning a medal for his deed. Mitchy took up various jobs and after a short time spent on the Cape as a meat cutter he decided to come home. Mitchy later became a full time basket maker opening a small shop in Starbuck Court. Mitchy used the molds given to him by his father Charles and made utility, or work baskets in various sizes, starting with the tiny “one egger” of which he sold hundreds. Each, for the sum of about $1.50. In 1920 Mitchy was visited by a young William Sevrens whom he introduced to introduced him to basket weaving. Mitchy is credited with giving the idea to Sevrens of adding a penny to the inside of his basket to identify it, which later became Sevrens trademark. It was not until 1964 that Sevrens opened his own basket shop on Old South Wharf. Early in his basket making career the baskets were well constructed and adorned with a simple paper label. Later in his career he began adding the now familiar tag line “I was made in Nantucket, I’m strong and stout. Don’t lose me or burn me and I’ll never wear out. Made by Mitchy Ray.” As time went on and Mitchy aged, his popular baskets very popular and he was selling them so fast that some say the time and effort that went into his later baskets doesn’t have the detailed quality he produced earlier. However in all of his baskets the durability is ever present and rich in his family and Nantucket history. Mitchy Ray baskets are treasured by those who collect Nantucket lightship baskets.

Attributed to:
Clinton Mitchell "Mitchy" Ray 1 (Weaver)
Dimensions:
Height: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)Width: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
Style:
American Craftsman (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Cane,Oak,Woven
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1940-1949
Date of Manufacture:
1940
Condition:
Seller Location:
Nantucket, MA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU137522969932