It’s fun to see old-time kitchen gadgets. Here’s what a hundred-year-old magazine said about a lettuce washer featured in an article titled, The Newest Kitchen Utensils:
Lettuce Washer
There are few things more distasteful than a plate of lettuce or romaine or chicory which, no matter how carefully it has been selected, examined or washed, has been so imperfectly dried that the dressing is weakened almost to tastelessness by the water still remaining on the leaves. Yet this happens even in the most carefully administered households, for it is a difficult thing to dry salad plants well without breaking their delicate, tender leaves. This implement, which is a familiar object in all French kitchens, is a salad washer and dryer. The green leaves are rinsed and placed in it, then it is dipped several times in a pan of cold water, and finally it is hung in a cool place where it may drip uninterruptedly. If time presses it may be swung back and forth a few times and all superfluous water will be expelled. Place the basket close to the ice to crisp the salad until serving time.
Ladies Home Journal (March, 1923)
A Hundred Years Ago 
Old time? I bought one about five years ago when my mother’s finally gave up the ghost! They’re one of my favorite gadgets.
I love it. I didn’t know that you could still buy these.
I want one! Better than plastic…
The old-time ones look very practical.
Interesting. I don’t think I ever saw one, but I will keep a lookout at antique stores.
Even though I enjoy going to flea markets, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen one of these.
We had one when I was a kid; mom put eggs from our hens in it!
What a good way to store the eggs!
Looks like a nightmare to clean, at least if you don’t have a dishwasher.
Since the lettuce washer just contains wet lettuce, maybe it could just be rinsed after use.
That was fun to read, Sheryl! Love the line “familiar object in all French kitchens.”
That line says something about the times. Back then French kitchens probably represented the ultimate in sophistication. 🙂
Very likely so–my thoughts exactly.
It looks pretty good to me, but our lettuce spinner is even better!
A lettuce spinner works for me (though actually, and I hate to admit it, I often serve damp lettuce that I semi-dry on paper towels).
You and me both 😉
And they can double as an egg basket and vice versa!
They’re very practical.
Some ideas don’t go out of fashion.
I agree – some things stand the test of time.
So beautiful (and functional!) We’ve definitely devolved—into plastic salad spinners that crack. break, and end up in landfills.
I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it, but it’s definitely beautifully designed. Some things were just better years ago.
I want one, too!