At the museum: Spring cleaning and a cup o’ tea
The Baby Daisy, manufactured in Britain around the turn of the last century. Photo: Em Hofstede
“Now more than ever, give her a Hoover and you give her the best!” Or so the ad went back in its day, complete with a look-alike of Ward Cleaver (the archetypal 1950s US sitcom husband) smiling proudly with his beautifully wrapped present, no doubt intended for his wife.
On display at the museum is a thought-provoking house-cleaning exhibit featuring antique carpet-cleaning devices from the past 100 years. Included are a carpet beater, a couple of sweepers, and five vacuum cleaners, both mechanical and electric. Naturally, there’s a Hoover.
Perhaps the most interesting vacuum is the Baby Daisy, manufactured in Britain around the turn of the last century. This wheel-less “baby”, made of ornate cast iron, wood and leather, took two people, no doubt women, to operate. One pumped the bellows while the other operated the hose.
Looking at this exhibit one has the opportunity to ponder just how much more difficult keeping a house clean was back in the age of our grandparents and great grandparents. And yet, these devices were a major step forward from the days of removing the entire carpet from the house and beating it outside on the fence or laundry line - a job so onerous it was done only once or twice a year.
The ads from bygone eras generally feature an elegantly dressed woman, smiling, while handling the newest improved appliance. Given names like “Star”, “Success”, “The Whirlwind”, and of course “Baby Daisy”, who wouldn’t buy into the life-simplifying technology.
When you’re done sweating over the housework exhibit, you can stroll over to the tea cabinet and enjoy some beautiful examples of early china teapots and tin tea caddies. Thirteen exquisite and immaculate teapots provide the opportunity for you to find your particular teapot style among designs no longer produced and rarely available, even in antique shops.
Of particular interest may be the yellow cube from 1916, or the Victorian blue and white, both in excellent condition. Perhaps you fancy something oriental or floral, or shell-shaped?
While deciding on your favourite, you can learn how the pioneer women of Golden Bay brought protocol to having a cup of afternoon tea and used it as an occasion for social networking.
Both the house-cleaning exhibit and the teapot exhibit will be on display for the next couple of months.
Em Hofstede
The Golden Bay Museum is open for exhibit viewing Mondays through Fridays from 10:00am-4:00pm, and Saturdays from 10:00am-2:00pm. Archive research with staff is available Mondays through Thursdays from 10:00am-3:00pm, and Fridays from 10:00-11:00am.
