Antique of the Month - Rug Beater
When I first moved into Johanna Brotch’s house at 515 East Lincoln Avenue in 1993, I discovered several small antiques in the attic and basement that dated from the time she lived in the home from 1890-1948. One of them was this rug beater that was hanging from the ceiling joists in a hidden corner in the basement and was covered in spider webs. It had obviously been hanging there for a LONG time. What’s a rug beater? In the old days before modern cleaning methods (like vacuum cleaners), the only way to get the dirt and dust out of carpets as to take them outside in the summer, hang them on a clothes line, and hit them repeatedly to drive out the dirt. Rug beaters like this one were what was used. Carpets in those days (the late 19th and early 20th centuries) weren’t what we think of today. Back then they used throw-rugs...there was no such thing as wall-to-wall carpeting. During my restoration of the house, as I removed all of the horrid 1970’s green and orange shag carpeting in the front parlor it could be plainly seen how the main floor carpet in that room had been painted around several times over the years. There were circles of various paint colors going around the outside of where that particular carpet had been. Johanna or husband Captain John Brotch had most certainly painted them! No sense painting under the rug...there wasn’t a lot of money then, and even saving that little amount of paint was important. Is the rug beater Johanna’s? I can’t say for certain, but given that she lived in the house from 1890 until her death in 1948, and given that vacuum cleaners began to be manufactured in the early 20th century and steadily progressed in efficiency and reliability through the years, absolutely before 1948, I would say it’s a good bet. The rug beater is also made of iron, not aluminum or steel, so it is definitely old. Would the new residents that moved in in 1949 after Johanna’s death still be using rug beaters? Maybe, but more likely by then that practice had been replaced entirely by vacuum cleaners. So I call it Johanna’s and it’s hanging now in her kitchen. By the way, this wasn’t the only thing I found in the house dating from Johanna’s time...stay tuned for them in future posts! The antiques in the Historic Johanna Brotch House (our society’s headquarters) will be a regular monthly feature on our site and in our newsletter.
See a video of more of the antiques featured in the Historic Johanna Brotch House