In 1891, Gustav Kobbe's observations of the Nantucket Lightship were published in Century magazine. He noted that, "A number of stores on Nantucket sell what are known as lightship baskets……..The sides of the baskets are of white oak or hickory, filled in with rattan and they are round or oval, of graceful lines and of great durability, the sizes of a nest ranging from a pint to a peck and a half."

Today shapes know no boundaries - rounds, ovals, squares, hearts, rectangles. The shapes are limited only by the skill of the makers of the moulds.