Rakes and Sweepers

I ran across this today while rearranging some things and decided to write about it.

The box is 4-3/4" by 2-1/4 " and 3/4" deep.  The stamp is gone as well as the postmark, but I think it is from the 1930's.

This was inside.

This is about full size.

Here is the instruction sheet for the little rake.

And then there was this nice brochure wrapped around the rake.  (Why do I keep hearing Jerry Lewis?)

Enlarge this and check out what little Mary has been doing with her oversized scissors.  That is Rice Flakes all over the rug and she is making confetti of Mama's Good Housekeeping.  Looks more like a mess a boy would make.  Mama is practicing for her Lady Gaga tryouts.

I'm making this full-size so you can see the nice graphics.  They used real silver paint on the cover and some of the sweepers.

Look at that beautiful braided cord and rubber bumper.  I am going to have to try replicating that for myself.

And looky what else I have!

The top reads "If this toy gives satisfaction why not buy a full size Bissell at the same place"

And here is my full-size sweeper.

It's a Universal and is also stencilled with the name of the department store that sold it - "Winegar's, Michigan's Greatest Home Furnishings Store".  Since I live in Grand Rapids and I had never heard of Winegar's I went to the Kent County GenWeb site and did a search.  Here is a link to the bio of William Winegar, founder, and here is a link to a portrait of him (another bio is on the preceding and following pages).  William started the store and then brought in his sons, Frank, William, and Louis.  Here is a caricature and bio of Frank Winegar.

The above from "The Grand Rapids Furniture Record", 1919.  You had to be a pretty good salesman to sell refrigerators in January in Michigan!

But, back to the Bissell sweeper.  You can click to enlarge to read this.

The above is from:  Illustrated New York:  The Metropolis of Today, 1888, p 205

Anna Sutherland Bissell was the President of the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company for 30 years, after the death of her husband, Melville.

You can still purchase this non-electric version of the Bissell Carpet Sweeper.

Just Ducky

Aren't these just the cutest?  They are Ducky Baby Blanket Fasteners and the beaks hold the corners of the blanket and the ties fasten onto the crib or stroller to keep the blanket on the baby.  The ducks are made of celluloid and are probably from the late 1940's.  They are still in their box!!

Here is a neat metal rabbit pair from 1928, currently for sale for $45.00!

Apparently these clips are still being made.  No doubt because they are a great invention.  Here is a pair from Japan.  Another set from Japan showing how to use them.

Here is a link to a beautiful set made when silk ribbon was still obtainable.  On Ebay for $38 with 4 days left.  Wish I had a job!

This auction is for an empty box with beautiful graphics from the '20's for a set of Snugins Coverlet Fasteners.

Finally, a link to a set like mine, but probably later and the ducks are not two-toned and the ribbons are twill.

Here is a link to an Ebay auction of PINK ones in the box with instructions on the back!  Ends in 3 days and NO Bids!  

Rubber

There was a new wonder product in the 1940's that was beginning to be used for everything --latex rubber.  I'll bet you're wondering what this is.

Well, wonder no longer!

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through to keep your blouse tucked in until you remember that slips were nylon.  Blouses were nylon. And what is the chief attribute of nylon?  Slipperiness!

Here is the box.

As if that is not complicated enough, check this out.

See that line in the middle of the box at the waistline?  This pulls out and pulls the blouse out of the skirt!  See the skirt by itself, below.

Read those instructions.  Getting dressed in the morning involved prepping the night before, apparently.

These are still in pretty good shape for a rubber product.  I can't say as much for the blouse tender.  Maybe because it's "live".

To finish off, here is a product to keep your feet in your shoes while wearing slippery nylons.

The Wristlet

This is my favorite gadget of all time and I used it constantly when I was crocheting a lot of doilies back in the 1980's.  You unhook the holder from the wrist bracelet, slip a crochet ball of thread on and re-clip.  It hangs from your wrist, the ball sits on the circle, which swivels down,  and works like a dream.  No more chasing the ball around when it falls out of the basket.

This is an ad from the Evening Post, Rōrahi LXXXVII, Putanga 3, 5 Kohitātea 1914, Page 9.  That's Maori for Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 3, 5 January 1914, Page 9.

A search for the patent revealed that it is probably a Canadian or English patent and not online.  The maker is not listed on the item.

I just found this from an auction site in Sussex, which confirms my English origin theory.

Darn It! I've Lost the Rubber for My Mushroom!

That ought to get a lot of traffic directed to this blog!  Shown below is something today we look at and wonder Why?  Why mend socks when you can just go buy another pair?  My socks always develop holes in the toes, not the heels.  If there is a hole in the heel there is also a corresponding hole in my foot.

The rubber was a rubber band--probably a large o-ring--that fitted into a slot around the edge of the wooden "mushroom".

It looks so simple to do in the illustrations, but darning was and still is a boring thankless job.  Well, maybe not so thankless to the one with the sore feet!  Oh!  This is also useful for repairing cigarette burns on that good wool suit.

Hang It All!

Today another non-sewing-related item.  I found this at an estate sale this week.  In wonderful shape and shiny and clean.

Although the patent date is 1926, it wasn't granted until 1928, so should say Pat Applied For.  Jacob Strand, of Stransky Products Corporation, invented this and, at the same time, also invented a pushpin to hold the hanging picture away from the wall, although I do not have any of those.

A little looking around netted me this patent.  It seems the Pat date is for the CARD, not the hangers, but the patent number is for the hangers.  Confusing.  So it seems this card is from after 1928, then.  Anyway, it was a good invention and can still be found today.

My Last Post on Lingerie Guards

I promise!  But I found these and just had to show you.

Gold and Rhodium Plated!  They're still shiny.  Probably from the 1950's.  I believe the Chadwick-Miller Company is still in business.

BFF Gertrude

Girls at the turn of the century didn't get allowances and most did not work, so when birthdays and Christmas rolled around it took ingenuity and skill to come up with presents for their friends.  Most turned to the needlework and fashion magazines that were prevalent at the time for their gifts.  Here is an example:

Who wouldn't like Gertrude for a friend?

To put this gift in context you must know that coat hangers were not common and the typical closet had hooks around the walls for hanging up the clothes that were not stored in bureaus and chests and trunks.

Here is a clip from the wikipedia article on clothes hangers:  "In 1906 Meyer May, a men's clothier of Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first retailer to display his wares on his wishbone-inspired hangers. Some of these original hangers can be seen at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Meyer May House in Grand Rapids."

As I live in Grand Rapids, I have visited this house many times.

Here is another item I have which could fall into the same category.

This is full-size.  It is crocheted out of silk or rayon thin ribbon and is meant to be pinned to the blouse front either as a corsage or at the neck.  It's just beautiful.

Perfumette

Sorry for the blurry photo, but I scanned this and the jewelry sticks up too high for a good scan, so I'll transcribe:
"Perfumette"
A New Creation
Lingerie
"V"
Chain
Patent Pending
The Perfumette is the very latest creation.  "Just drop a drop" or two of your favorite perfume thru the parforations to the perfume pad inside of the Perfumette.
"The Odor Lasts"
High grade White
Gold Filled Chain
What more can I say about this sexy little subterfuge?  "Hey Honey!  What is that lumpy thing on your chest?"  The alligator clips go on your slip or brassiere straps and the pad thingie hangs in the valley.

Here is a picture I "stole" from a recent auction for a similar item, but after they got their patent.  I cannot get to the patent document with the numbers listed, however, but this shows that this item was patented in 1928.

Mine is in better shape, but he has a better camera!  This one went for $14.99 on ebay and I found one on GoAntiques with a blue enameled chain listed for $75.00 without the card!

Victorian Nerd Strap

Here's a nifty little item.  (No, I don't know who Zed is)  This is an eyeglasses chain.  You would pin this to your blouse or belt, or jacket pocket or lapel if you were a man, and your glasses would be lassoed by the other end.  When you weren't wearing them, you would park them on the hook on the other side of the pin.  See it?  I also have several in the necklace version, which could also be used for pocket watches.  Years ago I missed out on one with a retractable chain.  I haven't seen one since.

Lilly May's Threader

Lilly May Widmark patented this fabric loop turner 29 June 1937 in Minneaoplis, MN.  The patent document is here.  I didn't find any other patents by Lilly May, so this will be her claim to fame.

A search of the 1930 census turns Lilly up with husband Carl Axel, 47, a contract bricklayer from Sweden, and daughter Muriel, age 17.  Lilly was a housewife of 41, born in Minnesota to a father from Sweden and a mother from Norway.  She had no other occupation.

I looked for her in Google and didn't find anything so I tried the Minnesota Death Index.  Nada.  I broadened my search at Ancestry.com and found husband, Carl, dying in Kern County, California in 1957.  Lilly May died there in 1971 at age 82.

I'd like to think that sales of that little loop turner, sent to their home in Minneapolis allowed them to buy a nice retirement house in California.

The Minuet of 1903

Another edition in the continuing series on fasteners is the skirt and waist holder.  For those of you who have correctly worn such garments the dilemma is clear:  through normal movement the waist, or blouse, becomes untucked from the skirt and you begin to look untidy.  This is usually solved by sewing hooks on the skirt on either side of the center back which fasten to either metal or thread loops on the waist.  These are necessary when wearing clothing of the 1890's through 1910's with a corset.  The silhouette was of a waist that was higher in the back than in the front. Blouses were worn with long ties coming from the center back which tied in the front and gathered and controlled the pouff of extra fabric.  The skirt went on over these ties, hiding them and was raised up in the back by hooking to the eyes on the blouse.  This gave a graceful swing to the back of the skirt and the correct sway-backed silhouette to the body.  It just doesn't look right without the proper corset, and when you see blouses of this era being shown in museums and clothing collections on the outside of the skirt with ties showing it is sloppy and wrong.  It's like bra straps showing.

I have never seen a garment with The Minuet sewn into it, but it is such a great idea!  Check out this ad in The Delineator from August of 1903.  The accompanying article "Fashions for Elderly Ladies" has some beautiful illustrations and there are some wonderful full-color fashion plates elsewhere in the magazine.  I didn't know Google had any copies of The Delineator, but now I can browse to my heart's content.

Official Bob Pins of American Airlines Stewardesses!

Ever wonder how blondes pin up their hair invisibly without those ugly brown or black bobby pins?
With these little beauties!

From 1950, AND endorsed by stewardesses, how can you go wrong?  Well, flash forward to 2010.  I'll bet you can't even GET ON a plane with these on your head now.  Wonder if I can get my 10 cents back?

So what does a flamingo have to do with bobby pins?