This is an Antique steel curling iron, Marcel Acier “D” made by the Leon Pelleray Company of Paris, 1880-1890’s. This curling iron was designed for the “Marcel Wave”, a hairstyle created by means of heated curling irons, forming the hair into waves rather than curls. The style was named for Francois Marcel, a Parisian hairdresser who invented the style in the 1870s. The “Marcel Wave” became very popular in the 1920s after many women began to bob their hair. Irons like this one were heated on stoves or in portable coal-heated iron heaters before being applied to the hair. To make sure the iron was not too hot they would put the tongs on a piece of paper and if the paper turned yellow from the heat, they were too hot.

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