Vintage Desert Water Bag
In the olden days, when cars had hood ornaments, when you drove across the desert in the western United States, you could keep your water cool. You would fill this bag with water, soak the outside of the bag and hang it on the front of your car. The evaporation and wind would keep the water cool. Very clever idea. This was hanging in my grandfather’s garage. He kindly let me have it to hang in my garage.
4 Responses “Vintage Desert Water Bag”
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RetroSpace
That’s a great bag! It holds over a gallon and is made of flax woven with jute — just porous enough to “sweat,” keeping the water cool. My great-grandfather bought the patent in 1923 and the family company (Ames Harris Neville) produced thousands of bags.
Wow Alan, that is a cool story!
Does this item have any value? I have one myself.
Carol, depending on condition, I just sold this one for $40! My grandfather almost had a heart attack laughing when I told him. He said, “I paid less than a dollar for it!” I’ve seen them sell for between $20 and $40.