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| Mangle board |
My husband and I try to surprise each other each Christmas with interesting and unusual antiques, and as tradition goes, we always exchange gift early.
This year he came home with a few novel items including another winding clock, and a very old Norwegian mangle board.
Despite the fact that the flat iron was invented in the middle ages, many housewives in Northern Europe still used a mangle board for ‘flattening’ clothes.
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| Using a mangle board.... date unkown, Germany ? |
The mangle board was used to smooth out clothes or household linens by pressing while slightly damp between the board and a rolling pin.
In days-gone-by many a young man would have spent his free hours carving a mangle board for his bride to be, often adding hers/ their initials on the sides.
Our mangle board is decorated with rosettes, and a carved horse handle. The handle was removable, but a previous owner nailed it in place. It is in good condition for its age, but at one point someone screwed two brackets underneath it and sadly one of them has a damaged screw which I’m at loss as to how to remove it.
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| If anyone has any tips on how to remove damaged screws from antique wood I would be very grateful. |
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| Carved rosettes. The wood is old and dark, and has some redish and greenish tints. |
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| Antique Norwegian mangle board |
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| Details |
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| Note the woodworm holes.... |
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| Detail of the horses' face |
It is beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful! I'd never heard of this so I loved reading the history behind it.
ReplyDelete