EVERYONE was completely stumped by last week’s Craven Curiosity - not a single reader, or indeed anyone in the Herald office, had the slightest idea what the object, below, was!

It comes from the collection of of The Museum of North Craven Life in Settle, whose honorary curator Anne Read writes: “During World War II and for several years afterwards, fresh eggs were a scarce and precious commodity. The food ration allowed for only one egg per adult per week and the much-hated dried egg powder was the only alternative. Country people were often at an advantage because they could still obtain eggs locally and they were in a position to make gifts to family and friends in the towns and cities.

Our wooden egg box was used for the transport of eggs by rail. It bears a tie-on label, dated 18th June 1941, addressed to Mrs Dawson of Giggleswick. With the box are three London Midland and Scottish Railway stamps. A dozen eggs were supported in the webbing slings shown.This layer is a wooden frame without a base that lifts out and another dozen would fit into the bottom section. A wooden lid, padded underneath, fits over the top and is secured by a hinged piece of wood with a carrying handle that folds down and is fastened by a hasp and padlock.

“The system of card, string and webbing to support the eggs seems very complicated and would have been fiddly to produce but must have been effective. We presume that these boxes must have been used to supply individuals rather than shops and that they were returned empty to the supplier for refilling. We should love to hear from anyone who knows any more about the extent to which they were used and whether their use ceased with the ending of food rationing.”

Send your suggestions for this week’s Curiosity, above, to news@cravenherald.co.uk by Monday at 8am.