Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum

The Lightship Basket Museum on Union Street is a small, focused institution dedicated to one of Nantucket's most distinctive crafts: the tightly woven rattan baskets that originated among lightship crews in the 19th century and evolved into the iconic Nantucket purse. The collection includes both historical examples and the work of contemporary artisans who continue the tradition.

The museum is compact enough to take in during an hour and just specialised enough to be genuinely interesting. Demonstrations are offered in summer, and the shop carries handmade examples. The story of the baskets — utility item, collector's object, status symbol — tracks the island's broader transition from working port to summer resort.

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A story
Lightship basket weaving developed in the mid-1800s when the crewmen of the South Shoals Lightship, anchored offshore for months at a time, used molds and rattan to weave baskets that were more uniform and precise than anything made on land. The baskets became Nantucket's most distinctive craft — a purse made in this style can sell for several thousand dollars today.

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