Art
By 1918, commercial laundries had transformed how American households managed their clothes. Sending laundry out—once a luxury—was becoming a middle-class necessity, freeing women from backbreaking washday labor and reshaping domestic life.
Art · Full story
Steam rises from massive copper vats as workers feed wet linens into the mangle, their hands moving fast and sure. The rhythmic clang and hiss fills the room; collars and cuffs emerge pressed sharp enough to cut. A woman picking up her bundle knows: her Monday is now her own.
Reflect
What tasks do you outsource today that your grandparents did themselves?