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19th Century Innovations in Housekeeping

Background Information:

In The History of Household Technology, a Library of Congress resource, "Constance Carter, Head of the Science Reference Section at the Library of Congress, describes the evolution in the technology of washing machines, irons, and stoves and its effect on the work of women in the home." This webpage includes a link to a wonderful, though somewhat dated, webcast about household innovations.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/household.html

The book More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technologies from the Hearth to the Microwave, by  Ruth Schwartz Cowan offers a careful look at the unintended consequences of some of these 19th century household innovations.
http://ruthschwartzcowan.com/selected-publications/moreworkformother/

Links to Individual Household Innovations:
  • Home Washing Machine & Wringer                                                                                                              http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.03845/
  • New Home Sewing Machine                                                                                                                    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mohistory/4359059889/
  • Wrought Iron Range Company                                                                                                                      http://www.flickr.com/photos/mohistory/4359799650/
  • Adams' Patent Coal Sifter                                                                                                                               http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a24727/
  • American Soap Company                                                                                                                                 http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.00031/
  • Aladdin Lamp                                                                                                                                                        http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/ephemera/A05/A0508/A0508-72dpi.html

Questions to consider:
For each innovation, consider who is the target customer of the product, who is most likely to use the product, and for whom time and effort might be saved. What might be an outcome of the introduction of this innovation?
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