Happy National Laundry Day! This unique-looking iron was used at Gem City French Laundry in the 1930s. At that time, washing machines were not as ubiquitous as they are today; they were very expensive and considered a luxury item. This meant the most practical option for many Los Gatos residents was to employ the services of Gem City French Laundry, which operated at 11 University Ave. from the 1930s to the 1960s. Established by Jacques and Therese Libante, French immigrants who came to Los Gatos via San Francisco, the couple prided themselves on the individual care they gave to their customers’ clothing and other specialty fabrics and linens - Jacques was especially proud of his custom starch formulas.
Operating a laundry service was no easy task, and this Better Laundering book, also in our collection, would have been extremely helpful to businesses like Gem City French Laundry. As it states, “the successful power laundry of today is a business of infinite detail. It must be laid out on a production basis to operate in a highly specialized and systematized manner.” The book lays out standards, methods, and formulas for everything a laundry service would need to know, from the variety of fibers and fabrics and their properties to proper rinsing techniques. It even provides advice on what laundry services can do to maintain quality amid the rationing that took place during World War II.
-Alexandra Schindler, Collections Registrar
Gem City French Laundry, 1937. Courtesy of Los Gatos Library.
