Bidspirit auction | American Industrial A&P Tea Shipping

American Industrial A&P Tea Shipping Crate Chest - An early 20th-century American industrial wire-bound shipping crate originally used for transporting tea for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P). The chest is constructed from vertical softwood slats secured by horizontal wire binding. It features a hinged flat-top lid and is reinforced with black-finished iron corner brackets and horizontal metal strapping. A central metal flip-latch is mounted on the front. The exterior retains its original red paint finish, while the interior remains in a natural, unfinished state. One side panel bears stenciled numerals 2, 1, 7, 5 in white paint. On the upper front wooden rail, there is faint black stenciling; the word The is visible on the first line, followed by illegible characters, and the second line concludes with the word ONLY. A thick woven fiber handle is attached to the side with the white stenciling. 28 x 20 x 14 inches.