Laundry Sprinkler (mouth blown)

This device at Smith’s Tavern is a mouth blown laundry sprinkler.  It is made of metal (maybe tin) with a rectangle thin reed-like tube that a user would blow into to sprinkle clothes with water droplets.

Before steam irons were available, sprinkling water onto fabric prior to ironing helped to release the wrinkles.  Many ceramic sprinkler bottles date from the late 1920s through the 1930s.  Others were manufactured in the 1940s to early 1950s. By the late 1950s, consumers began purchasing steam irons; of the few sprinkler bottles still being made, most were of plastic.  Metal or plastic laundry sprinkler tops were also available.

 

Reference:  https://trivetology.com/2018/08/15/collectible-sprinkler-bottles-part-2/

Catalog Items:

Item T130

Location:	Panel 4
Length:	18 cm
Width:	10 cm
Height:	7 cm
Weight:	88 g