Smock Shoppe Mary!

Mary, the owner of The Smock Shoppe, has this portrait hanging in her office.  It was taken of her as a very little girl.  If you know her, you can see the resemblance.

 It's a beautiful picture.

And Mary has fun stuff in The Smock Shoppe! 

Mary has this wonderful antique!

It is a Crimper or Fluting Iron.

The two rods you see in front of the Crimper would be heated in the stove and inserted into the crimpers which are hollow.  They would cause the crimper to heat up and you would use it to iron cuffs and collars.  I have always admired this little gadget and have seen it on display in museums.

Information taken from an Antique Web Shop "Fluting irons are one of the most interesting types of antique pressing irons ever invented, and were designed to crimp, ruffle and press little pleats into starched fabric.  Fluters were used for collars, cuffs, etc. and these vintage tools were an invention that saw their heyday in America from the 1860's through the 1880's." 

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