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“L” is for Lowcountry Baskets

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"L" is for Lowcountry Baskets. The early history of the lowcountry coiled grass baskets parallels the rise of rice cultivation. Men made agricultural baskets such as fanners while women made household forms such as sewing and storage baskets. With rice production in decline after the Civil War, household baskets came to dominate and women became more conspicuous in the craft. The shift from “work baskets” to “show baskets” meant a change in materials from bulrush to sweet grass and from saw palmetto to cabbage palm.  With the paving of Highway 17 and the opening of the Cooper River Bridge, basket makers opened roadside stands and developed new shapes for the tourist trade. Lowcountry baskets--coiled grass vessels that are useful for countless purposes—are symbols of a distinct African American culture.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.