This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
American Women and the Evolution of Domestic Labor
The piece traces how American women, once burdened by grueling washdays and housework, gained relief through industrial advances. It highlights rising beauty standards, modest leisure gained via spinning and canning machines, kerosene lamps, gas and electric lighting, and the rise of modern laundries as the era’s defining reform. It notes continued hard-won labor, cooking, cleaning, and child care, with emphasis on the role of innovation in easing domestic toil.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
America
Laundryowners National Association
Mellon Institute of Industrial Research
Pittsburgh
Joliet
Illinois
American Institute of Laundering
Milady
Elbert Hubbard
Lincoln