Harper Twelvetrees sold a wide variety of products to make a woman’s life easier in the 1860s. So thank heavens that nowadays we don’t have to scour, starch, mangle and wring.
“‘HARPER TWELVETREES’ Portable India Rubber CLOTHES WRINGER, price 20s. and 30s., can be fixed upon any tub or washing machine, and will wring three blankets or six sheets in a minute. Carriage free from the works, Bromley-by-Bow, London, E.
HARPER TWELVETREES’ Patent WASHING MACHINE will wash as many clothes in a few hours as a woman can wash in 2 days by the old method of hand rubbing. Price, with Rocking Frames, 21s., 45s , 55s , and 75s,; with Wringing and Mangling Apparatus combined 4l.10s., 5l.10s., and 7l. Carriage free to Railway Stations from the Works, Bromley-by-Bow, London, E.”
Stamford Mercury, 13 March, 1863.
“HARPER TWELVETREES’ GLYCERINE SOAP POWDER has triumphantly won its way into every home. It saves one-half of soap, two-thirds of time, and three-fourths of labour. A Penny Packet will make a Pound of capital Scouring Soap, possessing remarkable saponaceous and detergent qualities.
Patentee, Harper Twelvetrees, Bromley-by-Bow, Manufacturer of Washing Machines, Wringers, Mangles, and other Domestic Machines.
The luxury of Starching with BRIGGS’ AUSTRALIAN SATIN-GLAZE STARCH, which may be bought where you purchase Harper Twelvetrees’ Soap Powder. One Pound is equal to nearly Two Pounds of any other, and will make 16 Pints of strong Starch Fluid. Sold by Grocers and Druggists.–Wholesale Agent, Harper Twelvetrees, Bromley-by-Bow, London, E.”
Stamford Mercury, 6 February, 1863.