Stoves and Irons
by Jeanne Atwood Venturino
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Stoves and irons have long fascinated me from childhood when my first iron actually had a cord and I was allowed to iron hankies and doll clothes.
Since most old-fashioned stove collections won’t fit in today’s home and microwave ovens and glass top stove surfaces are so convenient, I have settled on this 1850 era cast iron laundry stove found at a street fair in downtown Martinez, California, oh, so many years ago. It stands 23 inches high and sits on four, 4-inch curved legs. The oval shaped top will hold a copper wash tub for boiling dirty clothes. The round belly of the stove holds nine irons held on by a notched clip, ranging in weights from a few pounds to very heavy. Irons had the name “sad irons” given to them, many could be continuously heating while others were being used. The name seems appropriately fitting. The metal identification plate located on the front of the stove top reads “Roberts Winner & Co, Quakertown & Phila. PA”. It probably burned coal or charcoal, or perhaps wood. The lid has openings for loading the fuel and at the bottom is a wide opening for cleaning ashes. |
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The year of origin for this type of stoves was late 1800s according to a Google search. A 1994 book cleverly titled “Irons by Irons” was written by David Irons and states these laundry stoves are very rare to find.
Several irons from my collection pictured here range from the small golden child’s toy that had been my fathers, a curved one for making ruffles, the larger one was brought back from Italy by my in-laws, a wooden handled one from my maternal grandmother, two cute small probably children’s toys and a handled hair heating iron. The lid lifts off the Italian iron to put in hot coals (I presume). The Italian iron is especially delightful as it pictures the twins Romulus and Remus suckling from a she-wolf, according to Roman mythology. In the legend, Romulus was said to have founded the city of Rome.
What a blessing it is that many newer fabrics do not need ironing, so we don’t need to feel “sad” on laundry day.
Several irons from my collection pictured here range from the small golden child’s toy that had been my fathers, a curved one for making ruffles, the larger one was brought back from Italy by my in-laws, a wooden handled one from my maternal grandmother, two cute small probably children’s toys and a handled hair heating iron. The lid lifts off the Italian iron to put in hot coals (I presume). The Italian iron is especially delightful as it pictures the twins Romulus and Remus suckling from a she-wolf, according to Roman mythology. In the legend, Romulus was said to have founded the city of Rome.
What a blessing it is that many newer fabrics do not need ironing, so we don’t need to feel “sad” on laundry day.
Originally published in the February 2013 KCGS newsletter.
