Linen presses

In the seventeenth century a lot of money was spent on textiles, especially on clothes and table linen. Textiles were a status symbol, sometimes being even more expensive than paintings. Much attention was paid to laundry and neatly pressed linen. That is why large amounts of money were often spent on a linen press. The pressing of the laundry was probably performed by the housewife herself, or in some cases by a maid, but under the housewife’s supervision.

fig 1

After the laundry was washed and ironed, a linen press was used so that the laundry could be folded in neat squares. The ironed laundry was then placed between the leaves of the press, and by applying a lot of pressure on the spiral of the top leaf; the ironing would emerge neat and tidy.

Many linen presses have survived from the seventeenth century, due to the fact that they were used on such a large scale. Dutch housewives were known for their neatness and for running a clean and tidy household. The existing linen presses from the seventeenth century were embellished with beautiful carving and/or the use of exotic hardwoods.

For the every-day linen goods every household possessed a simple linen press made out of oak, without any embellishments. This was kept in the attic where the washing was dried and ironed. This can still be seen today in doll’s houses made at the end of the seventeenth century, like those found in the Rijksmuseum.

 

fig 2

There were two kinds of presses. The larger one, the so-called "table press" stood on a table or upon a small cupboard. The smaller "hand press" could easily be moved from one room to the next and could be placed on any level surface. This small press was used for pressing small garments, such as handkerchiefs and other small items of linen. Often, this second type is incorrectly referred to as a book press. However. pressing books requires much more strength than pressing linen, and a book press was strengthened by iron, as is shown in fig. 3.

fig.3 book press

According to inventories of the first half of the seventeenth century large presses were placed in the reception room of the large houses of well-to-do citizens. In Dutch, this room is known as het voorhuys. This part of the house was visible from the street and passers-by could see how wealthy the inhabitants were.

Large linen presses were placed on top of a table, which usually had the same construction as the large draw-leaf tables of that period. Early tables had cylindrically turned legs with stretchers between the four legs in the shape of a square. Later on the legs become bulbous, while using the same type of stretchers. After about 1650 the legs had still bulbous shapes, but the stretchers were given the form of a double letter Y. At the end of the seventeenth century the shape of the legs and the stretchers changed again; they obtained the shape of a spiral twist and the stretchers were shaped like an X. Large linen presses could vary in size and the smaller ones amongst them could be placed on tables without any stretchers, since stretchers were basically used to strengthen the frame.

 

Early linen presses possess a lot of delicate carving. Later on tropical hardwoods, such as ebony and rosewood were used for embellishment. This also applies for other types of furniture. The press was constructed with two uprights and a horizontally placed beam, called the scaffold. The long wooden spiral is called a spindle, could be turned to push the pressing leaf up or down. Oak was never used for this pressing leaf; instead beech or elm was used. Oak edgescould break off easily, especially when it was not quarter cut. The craftsmen had a habit of staining the leaf in a darker colour, so as to imitate a tropical hardwood. The handle with which to turn the spindle was usually made out of brass or out of hardwood, as it had to be able to withstand a lot of pressure. Handles with carving on them are very, very rare.

The press itself was constructed in such a way that the number of pressing leaves could be added as needed, depending on the quantity of the laundry and the thickness of the cloth. Unfortunately, many of the original leaves have vanished or have been used for other purposes. A drawer could often be found underneath the press. By removing this drawer one can see how the uprights are secured to the frame. Obviously this construction had to be very strong in order to support the weight of the entire press.

Finally, we would like to show you some examples of linen presses from our collection:  

Linen press on table
Oak- ebony- and elm wood
Northern part of the Netherlands
ca. 1630 -1640

     

Linen press on cupboard with arches
Oak- ebony- and beech wood
Northern part of the Netherlands
ca. 1640

    

Linen press on table
Oak and ebony wood
Northern part of the Netherlands
ca. 1640-1660

Hand linen press
Oak and beech wood
Northern part of the Netherlands
ca. 1620 -1640

     

Hand linen press
Oak and beech wood
Northern part of the Netherlands
ca. 1630 -1660

 

You will be able to read much more about seventeenth century furniture in a book entitled: Nederlandse zeventiende eeuwse meubelen uit de collectie Van Aalst / Dutch seventeenth century furniture from the collection of Van Aalst, which will be published in the course of 2010.