EMO milk jug

An enamel milk jug with a lid and a wooden handle made by the EMO enamelware factory, which opened in Celje in 1894 under the name Westen and was one of the first industrial companies in the city. People used jugs like this to collect fresh cow’s milk from a nearby farm. They would go to get the milk after the morning or evening milking. Often it was a chore for children to do. The process of collecting milk from the farm helped forge an important link between farmers and the non-farming population. As well as an economic exchange, it was also an opportunity for regular face-to-face contact based on reciprocity and mutual trust.

The milk jug was made by the EMO enamelware factory in Celje. After 1918, it was the only factory of its kind in the former Yugoslavia and therefore it sold its products, mostly containers, throughout the Yugoslav market. In addition, EMO exported its products to the Balkan countries and elsewhere in Europe, as well as to the United States, Africa and the Middle East. The extent of the company’s market is evidenced by the fact that in 1979 it sold products in as many as 25 countries worldwide.

The EMO milk jug was obtained by the Museum of Recent History Celje through an acquisition campaign called ‘Don’t throw away your pots’, which ran from January to June 2010 and supplemented the collection in which the Westen/EMO jug and other material are stored. The jug was displayed in a temporary exhibition of the same name. Items from the EMO factory and other objects of Celje industry which marked the development of the city on the river Savinja are also displayed in the permanent exhibition "Living in Celje".

The EMO milk jug was used instead of tetrapak cartons, bottles and other types of packaging in which milk is sold today in shops. The jug was extremely useful because it could hold enough milk for a household for a few days, and after use, it was easy to clean and store, ready to be used again. It was made from high-quality materials so it could be used for a number of years, saving a huge amount of packaging. Even after they were no longer used, many were kept for nostalgic reasons.