Well into the 20th century, many households used “bluing” in the washing machine (or wash tub) to enhance white clothes.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-use-laundry-bluing-2146367
A popular choice, circa 1900-1920, was the “Wiggle=Stick”.
A hollow wooden tube with perforations, the wiggle stick was dipped in the wash tub to permit some of the blue substance to dissolve.
This Wiggle=Stick advertisement was printed as a postcard.
The postcard was mailed from Chicago to Mrs. M. J. McCay of Reedy, West Virginia.
Reedy, a small town in west-central West Virginia, was named for the Reedy Creek which flows nearby.
Chicago was the home of Wiggle=Stick and it is possible that this is an early example of direct-mail advertising.
This website has a picture of the wiggle=stick.
https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/wiggle_stick
The postcard is brightly colored, but the paper stock is not the best quality.
I made significant digital additions to the areas that were torn or marred.
An image of the original is included below.
One hopes that Mrs. McCay found that her whites did well in the washing that included the wiggle-stick.
