Antarctic Item 009

This week I resume posting the items I collected in Antarctica for use in my artwork. All these found and donated objects are grouped under the "Waste Stream Reclama- tion" category in the blog's sidebar. Today's item is a weathered Sifta table salt container courtesy of "Crunch" Noring, the Marble Point camp manager. Found underfoot at his Dry Valleys camp, this dis- card is a remnant of the pre-Code of Conduct era when littering was common in Antarctica. The packaging design suggests that the container dates from the 1940s, when Sifta Salt and the fabulous Sifta Sam character (click the old salt for a close- up!) were brand names of Palmer Mann and Co. Ltd. of Sandbach, Cheshire, UK. The company is long defunct and very little information about it exists online, but image reference indicates that the deteriorated area below Sifta Sam once read "Jolly Good Salt." This container is certainly the most delicate item in my collection of discards. Its flaking label -- or what's left of it -- appears to be just barely hanging on.