On Aug 20, 10:05 pm, (Drew Dalgleish)
wrote:

I'm going to guess as a packing. The only other use of white lead that
I've heard of is for filling the weave on the canvas of a canoe before
painting.

Many years ago I used white lead in the restoration of the roof of a
wooden railway car. We used the traditional method of stretching
canvas over the wooden roof, soaking it with a paste of white lead and
linseed oil,and nailing it before it shrank.With occasional painting,
it lasted outdoors for over 20 years.

John Halpenny