Here are three postcards from a monthly advertising series used by laundries and cleaners in 1913. The fronts of the postcards show a variety of laundry methods in foreign countries, while the backs have descriptions of the more modern processes and methods used in American commercial laundries of the era.
The first postcard shows a hand laundry in Panama. This postcard was sent in December, and the message on the back indicates that it was the last card in the "series of hand-colored photographs of laundry scenes in all lands."
The next postcard shows a public wash house in Italy. The back discusses the use of the machines used for ironing and finishing shirts..
My final postcard has a scene of river wash boats in Switzerland. The message on the back discusses the big flat ironer machines used for flat work like sheets and pillow cases.
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Were they really washing in the river in Switzerland in 1913? So much time was dedicated to cleaning clothes back in those days. If I spend an hour a week now, I'd be surprised. That's why we have time for Sepia Saturday!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! And especially that someone thought about making postcards about these washing efforts!
ReplyDeleteFascinating advertising history. I recently read that the real liberator for women of the world is the washing machine. The drudge work of washing clothes by hand at the riverside remains a major burden for women in the third world.
ReplyDeleteAnd for all of those white sheets, white shirts, table clothes, etc --- there are those that make those things white -- week after week. Nice post card history for this prompt.
ReplyDeleteA collection of colourful, as well as educational, cards. The laundry methods we use these days are kinder to our clothes, but then the fabrics are more easily laundered.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful collection of postcards. I think washing cloth has taken its toll in every country. I guess at the time the best one was the communal wash like in Italy. This sort of wash days happened in Switzerland too. I grew up in SWL but I did not know about the wash boats.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows women have had to wash clothes & etc. in a river or stream at some point in history. And I've heard of communal wash houses. But I'd never heard of communal wash boats. I'm supposing in Switzerland the rivers are fairly clean. Elsewhere, however, & your things might not get so clean that way? And not so much in communal wash houses either!
ReplyDeleteLooking at these postcards conjures up all sorts of conversations that would be taking place on laundry day.
ReplyDeleteIf it weren't for these postcards what other record is there of washing history. A valuable contribution.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting collection on the history of laundering. I have never seen any postcards like these.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine all the news sharing, joking around, family tales, and gossiping taking place while the work is being done. They are beautiful postcards.
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy those weren't my days of doing laundry!
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