How do you clean the lead lining?

Wipe it with a damp cloth. The lead is soft and scores easily if you use abrasive modern cleaners. Dry the interior thoroughly. Sitting moisture encourages a white powdery oxidation on the metal surface.

I bought an old wooden cooler that has some splits down the curved sides, should I get those gaps filled in or left alone?

Those gaps are standard shrinkage in coopered examples. The wood staves lose moisture over the centuries and pull away from each other. The brass bands usually hold everything structurally stable. Filling the gaps often causes problems later. If the wood absorbs moisture from the air and expands, the rigid filler acts like a wedge and forces the joints further apart. Leaving them alone is safer.

Do they hold modern champagne bottles?

Most Georgian examples will. Eighteenth-century wine bottles were quite squat and wide, so the compartments or open tubs tend to have plenty of room for modern champagne shapes. You might struggle with the specific internal dividers on some later cellarets. Those were sometimes tailored for tall, slender claret bottles. Check the internal grid dimensions first.

The brass tap on the bottom of mine is jammed shut and won't turn at all when I try to drain water out, how do I free it?

Leave it alone. Most antique taps are seized solid after decades of disuse. Forcing the handle usually snaps the brass spindle or shears the housing away from the wood. If you plan to use it with ice, line the interior with a bespoke plastic tray. You can lift that out to empty the water without relying on the antique plumbing.

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These lead-lined wooden or metal tubs sit on short legs or pedestals, designed to hold ice and keep bottles chilled in the dining room before serving.

18th century

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