Steel Legs c.1900-1920

These are a highly unusual large pair of antique polished steel legs used in the production of stockings. Of American origins, these legs have likely come from one of many stocking factories which employed them in a manufacturing process known as "boarding", whereby the pantyhose or stocking is stretched over a dry or moist leg form or "board" and subjected to steam and/or heat treatments employed to achieve the desired size and shape. The markings on the legs would no doubt be used to measure the sizing of the produced stockings. The colour is of a polished stainless steel which looks like it may have been nickel plated to help prevent rust.