Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Iron, Curling |
Caption |
Curling iron |
Description |
All metal 19th century curling iron with very slender handles. Marked "Acier G". Possibly made in France, where the fad of ironing or curl ironing hair began. The irom was heated on a stove. Used to create a Marcel hair style of deep soft waves. The Marcel Wave (sometimes spelled Marcelle) is a stylish wave given to the hair by means of heated curling irons. Named for Francois Marcel, 19th century French hairdresser who invented the process in 1872. It revolutionized the art of hairdressing all over the world and remained in vogue for over fifty years, making a fortune for Mr Marcel. Originally known as the "Undulation Marcel", the name evolved to the "Marcel Wave". The irons were made by L. Pelleray of Paris and exported world-wide. The original irons were heavy tongs with rounded internal surfaces that had to be handled by an operator trained in knowing how to make a deep natural looking wave, and not a round curl. The tongs were heated over a rectangular shaped gas burner about six or seven inches long and two inches wide. With such primitive equipment it was hard to maintain the correct temperature for the iron - too cool and the wave did not set, too hot and the hair got burnt. The hairdresser tested the iron on a piece of paper before using it on a clients hair. If the paper burnt, the iron was too hot! However by 1924 electric waving irons were available where the temperature of the iron could be regulated. Marcel irons initially came in four sizes - A, B, C and D and were used according to individual preference, but in 1933 an adjustable iron was developed. The iron was used in conjunction with a comb. |
Catalog Number |
1991-0052-001 |
Search Terms |
Curling irons |
Subjects |
Hair curlers |