Hlootoo's Art

weirdvintage:

Cooper (barrelmaker) Robert Leece, is pictured in a barrel that he made himself, whilst covered in soot, ash and water.  This is all part of an initiation ceremony to mark his graduation from apprentice to full-fledged cooper, practiced since the days of Queen Elizabeth I. Stag Brewery, Pimlico, London, 1955. (via National Media Museum/Daily Mail Archive)