The history of washboards, the ribbed flat boards for scrubbing clothes, may go back for millenia, but we have examples in the antiques stores from the 19th century forward. Original washboards were all wood, with the wooden ribs for applying the clothing made with some effort.
Later, metal ribs such as the Zinc King, made by the National Washboard Company of Memphis and Chicago began to appear. These galvanized boards stood in the washtubs and provided the friction for scrubbing dirty clothing clean again.
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Other models, such as the "Soap Saver" and glass ribbed boards, finally gave way to the twentieth century electric washing machines, where an agitator was able to automate the manual scrubbing process.
A humorous inscription (by today's standards) on an old Zinc King reads: "Do not rub hard, the board will do the work." Take that, domestic divas!
On a different note, washboards new and old serve today as rhythm musical instruments for jug bands and bluegrass ensembles.
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