Websitings - The Journal of Antiques & Collectibles

This month Mike McLeod takes a look at Lee Maxwell's Antique Washing Machine Museum, The Blenko Museum and Yo-Yos.

Readers who would like to share interesting websites with Mike may contact him via email at: mikemcl@mindspring.com.

Lee Maxwell's Antique Washing Machine Museum
www.oldewash.com

A circa 1907 Nineteen Hundred Washer Company electric washing machine with a wooden tub.

You could say that washing machines are the Rodney Dangerfield of the collecting world - they get no respect. But we should all thank our lucky stars for this humble appliance. In times past, no other job inside the average home required more effort than the regular washing of clothes. Surprised? Consider this: a typical wash cycle in the pre-machine days included one washing, one boiling and one rinsing of the clothes. This required about 50 gallons of water, which meant 400 pounds of water had to be hauled from a well or pump. Then the clothes had to be scrubbed, wrung out and hung out. After bringing them in, a proper household required the clothes to be ironed, using at least two irons that were heated on a wood burning stove. Then they were folded and put away.

Think about that the next time you throw a load in your washing machine, spin the dial and turn it on. And that was much easier than the previous methods of washing clothes that were used for thousands of years prior-hand washing and rock pounding.

The early washing machines were also dangerous. The electric-powered machines dripped water on the electric wires and connections in the motor below the tub. People often received shocks when touching the tubs.

Washing machines were invented and patented in the mid-1800s, and there were more than 1,300 companies manufacturing them by 1920. Such was the demand for freedom from the drudgery of wash day.

Close-up of the decal on the Nineteen Hundred Washer.

In homage to this household workhorse, Lee Maxwell from Colorado has amassed a collection of 1,036 antique and vintage washing machines, many of which he proudly shows on his website. Lee has a rare dedication to his hobby: "Once each spring and fall we pack up the motorhome, hook on the trailer, and head out on the old US highways hunting for old and unusual washing machines. A hunting trip usually lasts about a month and we have been from coast to coast and border to border finding our collection." Lee has a certificate from Guinness proving he has the largest collection of washing machines.

This dedication has been transferred to his website where 999 washers can be seen, plus complete manufacturer and patent information, and since "…the system of agitation best characterizes a washing machine," Lee has an "Agitator Alley" cataloging machines by this function. Pretty much all you need to know.

Lee has also written some articles about his hobby, and one includes this interesting vignette:

"One day, I was explaining to a group how dangerous the machines could be. A lady leaned over and shyly demonstrated the 2-inch diameter scar on the top of her head. As a young girl, she had been helping her mother do the laundry when the wringer caught one of her long braids and proceeded to scalp her!"

An interesting website and a thorough resource.

Blenko
www.blenkomuseum.com

Grouping of six 1968 Blenko designs, each with contrasting coil, by Joel Philip Myers. Tallest measures 16.5 inches, shortest 10 inches.

Noted for its beautiful colors and imaginative designs, Blenko Glass is a favorite with collectors. These facets of Blenko found a willing collector in Bill Agle who opened the Blenko Museum in 2001 in the Westlake Antique Mall in Seattle. But as the website says, "The museum now operates not as a physical space but as a resource for information. Our mission is to organize and facilitate the public exhibition of Blenko glass and to promote academic interest."

The Blenko Glass Museum provides items from its collections for public exhibitions; lecturers for organizations; and glass identification and fact-checking services.

William J. Blenko was the founder of the Blenko Glass Company. Born in London in 1854, he learned glass blowing as boy while working in a bottle factory. He tried several times over the years in England and America to create a business that made sheet glass for stained glass windows, but they all failed.

A trio of Wayne Husted Blenko designs in Amethyst from the 1950s. Left to Right: #5615, 12.5 inches high x 8.5 inches wide x 4 inches in diameter; #5825L, 23.5 inches high x 4.5 inches in diameter; #562S, 12.5 inches high x 5.5 inches wide x 3.25 inches in diameter.

In 1921, he opened the Eureka Art Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia, and thanks to the sales skills of one of his sons, who was also named William, the company did well. "However, the 1929 Depression destroyed the market for stained glass so in 1930 they introduced a tableware line to get them through the Depression."

Blenko has employed seven official designers over the years who are the seven pillars for Blenko collectors. They are: Winslow Anderson (1948-1953); Wayne Husted (1954-1963); Joel Philip Myers (1964-1971); John Nickerson (1971-1974); Don Shepherd (1975-1989); Hank Adams (1989-1995), and Matt Carter (1995-2002).

The website features important resources, books and articles on how to identify vintage Blenko and how to clean dirty and stained Blenko. But for those of us who are addicted to eye candy, the website has exquisite photos of Blenko Glass and photos from several exhibitions. If you are in love with glass, you must love Blenko.

Yo-Yos
www.nmia.com/~whistler/museum1.html

Duncan tin whistling yo-yo.

For the uninitiated (like myself), one might think the collecting category of yo-yos is narrow and limited to yo-yos. Such is the plight of those who are not dedicated followers of Yo, as Tommy Smothers labeled it. True followers, such as David Hall here, know the variety available to collectors.

David's collection includes not only a pile of yo-yos, but also store signs, competition patches, award plaques, catalogs, buttons, posters, string packs, advertising postcards, display boxes, counter displays, clocks and trick books.

In the U.S., the first patent for a yo-yo was issued in 1901. Outside the U.S., patents for yo-yo toys were filed as early as the 1860s. All this patent information is on David's website under the "Patents" button. When you click it, there is a "Yo-Yo Collectors FAQ" button which leads to 21 topics of information, such as where to find yo-yos, how to care for them, how to collect and so on.

Cheerios sponsored competitions and awarded patches.

David recommends: "Once you decide on your area of focus, purchase yo-yos that are beautiful, interesting, or just plain different. Most importantly, try to collect yo-yos that have one or more of the following items of information on one or both yo-yo halves: Yo-yo name, name of the manufacturer, year the yo-yo was made, serial number, and patent number.

"Yo-yos that have none of this information on the halves, regardless of how exotic the yo-yo is or how beautiful, is worth very little. Therefore, get in the habit of collecting only yo-yos with a logo; they're much more interesting (and valuable)."

Yo-yos and yo-yo collecting is just plain fun.

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