Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1930

Date Range To

1940

Materials

STEEL, PLASTIC, CLOTH

No. Pieces

3

Height

1.4

Length

28.2

Width

3.6

Description

1. CURLING TONGS: STEEL SCISSOR-STYLE IRON, WITH STRAIGHT HANDLES WRAPPED IN BLACK PLASTIC SHEATHES. PLASTIC HAS BEEN MELTED IN SEVERAL PLACES; ENDS MISSING. ROD CHARRED SLIGHTLY. 2. ELECTRIC HEATER: 13CM(L) X 8.4CM (H) X 10CM (W). SILVER-PLATED STEEL HEATER. CYLINDRICAL, WITH TWO FEET AT EITHER END. HOLE THROUGH CENTRE FOR HOUSING CURLING IRON, WITH ENCASED PRONGS AT ONE END. NAMEPLATE ON SIDE READS "MADE IN CANADA SUPERIOR MADE ONLY BY SUPERIOR ELECTRICS STD PEMBROKE, CANADA H.E.P.C. APPROVAL NO. 136 NO.29 VOLTS 110 WATTS 110". 3. ELECTRICAL CORD: 190.2CM (L). CLOTH-BOUND CORD WITH BLACK PLASTIC TWO-PRONG PLUG AT ONE END, AND ADAPTOR AT OTHER. PLUG READS "UL HEYCO MADE IN U.S.A.", AND AT OTHER END OF CORD "EAGLE UL 5A-250V 10A-125V USA". ADAPTOR END OF CORD IS WIRE-WRAPPED.

Subjects

TOILET ARTICLE

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

History

PURCHASED BY DONOR AT GARAGE SALE. BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN OWNED BY AN ELDERLY LADY WHO PASSED AWAY. LABEL COPY BELOW WRITTEN BY COLLECTIONS TECH KEVIN MACLEAN AS PART OF AN ONLINE LETHBRIDGE LIVING MAGAZINE FEATURE IN OCTOBER 2010. THIS ELECTRIC HAIR CURLING IRON, UTILIZING A ‘TONG’, IS A PRECURSOR TO TODAY’S MODERN CURLING IRON. HEATED TONGS WERE USED BY ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS TO CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF HAIR FROM STRAIGHT TO WAVY. IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, ELABORATELY EMBELLISHED TONGS, SOME WITH WOODEN HANDLES, WERE HEATED ON STOVE TOPS OR OIL-FUELED LAMPS. THIS METHOD OF HEATING PROVED CHALLENGING, HOWEVER, NOT ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL A TONG’S TEMPERATURE, LEADING TO SCORCHED HAIR, BUT BECAUSE THE LIGHTING OF FIRES FOR SUCH PURPOSES COULD RESULT IN DEATH - AS WAS DOCUMENTED AS HAVING OCCURRED TO A WOMAN IN MONTREAL IN 1921. EXPERIMENTATION WITH ELECTRICITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL HEATING PROCESSES BEGAN IN 1890. PRIOR TO THAT TIME, IT WAS USED FOR LITTLE ELSE BUT ELECTRIC LIGHTING. AT THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY, HOWEVER, SMALL APPLIANCES SUCH AS THE FANS BEGAN TO EMERGE, FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY CLOTHES IRONS, WASH MACHINES, TOASTERS AND ELECTRICALLY HEATED CURLING IRONS. THE EXISTENCE OF ELECTRIC ‘CURLING TONGS’ WAS FIRST NOTED IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD IN 1907. THIS ELECTRIC CURLING IRON WAS PRODUCED BY SUPERIOR ELECTRICS IN PEMBROOKE, ONTARIO. THE CANADIAN COMPANY OPERATED FOR 92 YEARS, BEGINNING IN 1917, MANUFACTURING AND EXPORTING SMALL APPLIANCES AROUND THE WORLD. IT CLOSED IN NOVEMBER 2009. *UPDATE* IN 2018, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF PERSONAL ARTIFACTS, INCLUDING THIS ARTIFACT. RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE DONOR AND THIS DONATION WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. FOR EARLY CURLING IRON ADS AND NEWS ARTICLE ON MANUFACTURER'S CLOSURE, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P19930052000

Acquisition Date

1993-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail