Old-ish books as source of FH

[Lydart]

... and another one ...

Look at the price !   We bought a modern Rayburn/Aga for £6000  !!   Insanity !

[old rowley]

The only thing that I can find at the moment is that Young & Marten Ltd was started by William Young in 1872. At a later date he was joined by H.H.Marten. The last reference that I can find about the company is that they were trading from Caledonian Works Romford Road Stratford E.15 in 1936. There is a court case dated for 1968/9 which refers to a company by the same name but I am unsure if it is the same one.

old rowley

[Josephine]

Lydart,

Years ago, my family and I spent a summer in Ottawa (Canada). 

The Museum of Science and Technology had a huge display called, "Love, Leisure and Laundry".  I don't know if the collection is still on display but check out this section of their website:

Washing Machines

http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/washing_machines.cfm

(I still have my "Love, Leisure and Laundry" T-shirt; I loved the exhibit!)

Regards,
Josephine

[Lydart]

Thanks for that Josephine ... great site for anyone researching washing machines !   Some of them made me feel tired just to read about them !   Almost less work to hand wash clothes in a bowl or the sink ...

[Josephine]

You're welcome, Lydart!

I still remember my mother showing me an old wringer washer in the barn when I was about four or five years old. 

Regards,
Josephine

[old rowley]

morning Lydart,

In relation to your Mrs Beeton's book, I have found a copy that I have that has the same b/w picture of the washing items. In the preface of my copy it talks of  ...."the world, especially since the war...." which place's it in the 1920's (and, as there is no mention of how long "since the war" I would say that it was printed in the very early 20's). Going by the font type used and the layout I would date my copy to having been printed between 1920 and 1930. the one thing to remember though is that Ward, Lock & Co. did not change much in the book when reprints were produced and that can be said for the images that they contain. The only difference being in so much that as photography changed so did the technique of reproducing them in books and journals.
I would therefore think that your copy is from the same period.

old rowley

[Lydart]

Thanks for that OR.  I never thought of actually READING it for clues like you found !  An object lesson ... read rather than just speculate !

[Brambletye]

Any old book which has an advert with a price attached to the item should help considerably in dating it; the other dead giveaway, apart from mention of "the War" or His or Her Majesty, is possibly the company name and address in any ad...if you can get reference to any old directories e.g. Kelly's, look them up under the business section of the town or city to see when the advertisers first appear, that at least gives you a clue. Many municipal boroughs and councils also produced their own town guides, so if the local library has any in the reference section, that might help too.

[Isabel H]

My 1915 Mrs Beeton has illustrations of mangles but no washing machines. The hand-operated machine, no.6 in your illustration, is similar to the one my grandmother used right up to the 1950s. On wash day the kitchen mats were rolled up, and the machine was hauled into the middle of the room and filled up with pails of hot water. Using it was a very energetic and splashy business! Everything had to be rinsed in the sink and put through the mangle, and then the machine had to be emptied (I can't remember if it was baled out or if there was a drainhole) and the floor mopped dry. It was eventually replaced with a single tub Hoover machine on which the mangle rollers could be released if you got your fingers trapped - a huge improvement.