Collection Spotlight: Sock Stretchers
We continue with our occasional spotlight of objects, documents, photographs and other items you can find in the collections of the Historical Society of Haddonfield. Thanks again to summer 2017 volunteer Britni Dellinger for helping to compile these features. Next up:
SOCK STRETCHERS
1969.034, Gift of Mrs. Harry Bauer
These wooden sock stretchers were used for just the reason the name suggests: to prevent socks from shrinking after washing them. Although they are mostly forgotten now, sock stretchers were ubiquitous during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries until the development of synthetic fabrics. This pair is sized for a child’s tall stockings, or long hose, and they are undated. The stretchers were added to the Society’s collection in 1969 by Sylvia (Tatem) Bauer. Sylvia and her husband Harry Bauer were the previous owners of Greenfield Hall, which is now the headquarters of the Historical Society.