The Cook wrote:
> I found this in a 1926 "The Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving
> Recipes."
>
> http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=52df66t
>
> Notice the canner.


Although the canner wasn't terribly clear in the photo, it looked to me
very much like an old "wash boiler" (which spanned two burners on the
stove) being used for canning. In the "olden days" most things had more
than one use or they weren't acquired int he first place.

My parents had an old one, copper, in the garage. I gave it away to a
friend after their death. She planned to use it as a magazine rack (if
she didn't sell it to an antique dealer.)

I have a ~38 yr. old blue enamel canning kettle which was used for jams
and pickles. An alternate use for us was a "clam boil" at the beach
house. Potatoes, sausage, Portuguese sausage, hot dogs, corn, clams,
and occasionally lobster. Steam with a bottle or two of beer and a bit
of salted water until the clams (added after about 1/2 hour of simmering
the rest) opened up. A feast!

gloria p