| Brief Description |
This washing machine is basically a hand-operated wooden tub. A five-legged cast-iron peg and dolly are attached to the lid and agitated by turning the large cast iron side wheel.
The body is made like a barrel with staves and iron hoops. It has side handles, legs that look like barrel slats and a mangle board. The inside surface of the machine is corrugated wood. The mangle is missing and there is no maker's mark or number.
This type of hand-operated washing machine was first produced around 1850, the first washing machine to provide some sort of mechanised action to washing, and had an electric motor added in 1914, although hand-operated models continued in use for another 30 years. [ref: D de Haan. 1977. Antique Household Gadgets and Appliances c.1860 to 1930. Blandford Press.]
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