Is anyone able to confirm it is an oil-can?

Looks to me as if the chained lid doubles as a measuring cup, implying the contents were doled out accurately, which is rarely necessary with oil.    My first thought was Rum, then disinfectant.  Possibly oil for mixing into petrol to make two stroke.

Not so long ago, containers like this were made by the million out of earthenware, glass and tin-plate.    Tin-plate cost more but sealed well, where lightweight, and could be knocked about without breaking.   They had a multitude of uses, I think this one a bit special because ordinary lids were rarely chained.

I expect it was labelled and painted when new making identification easy.  Then, in the past, someone cleaned it off to keep us amused!

Dave

..maybe you could buy cans like that back in the days when paraffin (Whale Oil, Coal Tar 😉)was a weekly purchase and you had to fetch it in your own container..

On 11 September 2024 at 04:46 not done it yet Said:

I very much doubt the cap was a measuring device – unless it is a later addition. or cleverly sealed on the inside of the cap.  Looks, to me, the chain is just a means of not losing the cap!

Well, I suggest a maker deliberately fitting a leaky cap to a well-made container is equally unlikely!  Especially as it’s easy to seal the inside with a soldered disc.

I hope ichad will let us know.   He can test the cup by fulling it with water.   If it doesn’t leak, be interesting to know how much liquid the cup contains.  I predict a nice round number of fluid ounces, or maybe drachms.

Dave

On 11 September 2024 at 10:15 ichad Said:

The cup/cap has a hole in the top with the chain passing through so cant be filled with liquid or used as a measure.

As made … or as modified ?

MichaelG.

Hi,

With that short chain it would be difficult to fill the cup,most of it would be on the floor .It has also got a hole in it.

Maurice

I have taken the liberty of cropping the photo … just to focus attention on the important detail

MichaelG.

.

Hmm, I think this is a genuine Shell Rotella, yellow and red, not green.

The real one has a sealed cap too.   I’m worried about the chain leaving a hole in ichad’s cap because it’s bound to leak.   As the container is otherwise very well-made, it’s an odd feature, probably deliberate.   Perhaps some liquid that needs to breathe.   Dunno.

Dave

I’ve seen similar items with a chain and a stamped tag describing the contents, but I doubt they’ve been painted.