Mick Tighe (founder of our collection) bought this little picnic hamper in an antique shop in Andermatt while working there as a mountain guide in the 1990s. There was all kinds of old mountaineering gear in the shop, but the lady owner wouldn’t sell most of it because she liked it too much! So Mick’s only prize was this little hamper, which is a wee enigma as it seems to have been at another Swiss ski resort, Wengen, at some point, and later found its way to Andermatt, with the box and contents mostly British. We assume it was taken to Switzerland by a British tourist, most likely a skier, as there was a large contingent of British skiers in Wengen and Andermatt back in the 1950s, when we think this hamper was in use.

Star of the show is the lovely Ilat spirit stove and kettle which looks as if it has been well used. The plastic ‘crockery’ is pretty unexciting by comparison and no doubt there are bits missing, spoons etc. A nice little timepiece with some interesting history.