VTT - Antique Parlors & Rug Beaters

This is an advertising postcard ©1910 by the Como Co. Chi. It has a September 1910 calendar and advertises parlor furniture and furnishings. I don't have any other similar postcards, but I believe there were probably designs for all the months of the year, and that the space at the bottom would have been imprinted for a number of stores. This particular postcard was sent by the John Klein Co. of Mankato, Minnesota. The card was worth a dollar towards a purchase in that store during the month of September.

Here is what the postcard says about parlor furnishings of that era:

The Parlor used to be a dark, prim and uncomfortable room, a place where hostess and guests sat together in stiffnecked misery — but now we let the sunshine in — parlor furniture like people is becoming more humane — beauty and comfort are first considerations and the parlor is a room in which to live and be happy. Let us show you parlor furniture and furnishing which minister to comfort and enhance home pleasures. We take an intelligent interest in our customers needs.

I don't know about you, but I think this parlor still looks dark and uncomfortable.

There is a good possibility that owners of such a parlor would have used rug beaters on their area rug. Sweeping carpets only removes some surface dirt, and small portable electric vacuum cleaners had not yet become common. By hanging the rug outdoors and beating the back, much of the embedded dirt could be removed.

I bought these rug beaters shortly after I read a magazine article about a collection of rug beaters. That probably was about the same time that there was an exhibition and a newspaper article "ANTIQUES: Whomp! Thwack! Thump! A Tribute to the Rug Beater." I wanted the rug beaters just because I liked the design and thought they would look nice hanging on a wall, but I actually did use them to beat my braided area rug.

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