Laundry Clothes Tub Plunger (Jet Siphon). 1879, 1881 Patent Dates. Tried Out!

Description

PLEASE VISIT MY WIFE'S EBAY SITE- "TRUCKDEAL"- ALSO!   WE'LL BOTH BE SURE YOU'RE IN GREAT HANDS!!
Deanna, my wife, dear heart, told me to get the last of my home display antiques out of the house!   A corner of our greatroom was an Americana display of old tools and farm type stuff!  To her it was a pile of scrap!  (I remember when she said "Oh HELL no!!!"  when she first moved in and saw my railroad coupler knuckle on the floor of our "den"!!)
Anyway, I am just gonna list things as they go out to the garage!  I'm listing all my antiques over time, a lot of stuff!!
My collecting spanned over 40 years traveling the Midwest on demolition jobs!
Here is a laundry tub plunger from the 1880s   A rare version with mechanical moving parts!  Most do NOT have a feature like this!!
TO ANSWER A QUESTION I NOW INCLUDE THIS: IT IS ALL TIN-PLATED BRASS!  ONLY THE SPRING AND THE LITTLE HEART-SHAPED WING NUT AND COLLAR ARE STEEL.   A MUSHROOM-SHAPED WOOD PLUG IS IN THE HANDLE END!
I bought this years ago in the '90s in Mitchell SD  on the way to a transformer de-commissioning job in Rapid City. Some of the best antiques I ever found and bought I picked up there!  And I bought a lot of stuff that day!!
I researched these plungers back then to see what they did.  They were the forerunner of the power agitator in a wash machine.  They all performed on an identical principle of a forceful jet on the downstroke and then re-filling of the cavity on the upstroke.  This caused a "toroidal" rotation of the clothes  (think a donut shape!)  up the outside of the tub and back down near the handle of the device.  These things were called "Jet Siphons"  for this action!
The patents on this device were mostly over the spring action and movable piston in the barrel.  This one was operated by keeping it in contact with the bottom and plunging downward rapidly and then releasing the down pressure so the spring would re-set the piston at the top of the stroke!  THIS DEVICE CLAIMED TO RELIEVE "BACK ACHE" CAUSED BY USING A REGULAR NO-MOVING-PARTS ONE OF THESE TOOLS AND PUSHING DOWN AND PHYSICALLY PULLING UP!  YOU CAN IMAGINE THE "YIN AND YANG" YANKING ON YOUR MUSCLES!!  AS WELL AS A SORT-OF BALANCING ACT TO KEEP IT "AIRBORNE" WHILE IN MOTION!!   WITH THIS MODEL YOU LEAN DOWN AND FORCE IT DOWN AND LET THE SPRING RETURN IT BACK UP!
The spring setting is adjustable to customize the action!!!
Back when I first got it I decided to try it out!!  I cut a clean oil drum  down 2/3rds in height and put water, soap and some of my filthy work clothes in the barrel.  I plunged away, and, sure enough, I saw the "toroidal" action of the clothes rotating vigorously in the tub!   It ACTUALLY DID A GREAT JOB OF CLEANING THE CLOTHES!!!
So you are good to go if your wash machine breaks down!!!  Would your wife like one of these on Valentine's Day?!! This was standard fare before there were ever any wash machines anyway!!!!!!
Very nice rare model of a laundry plunger/agitator!!!
Mike
Mike (and Dee!!)