General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Cast iron fire box, lid and smokestack. Pressed copper and/or brass heat shield. Hardwood hand grip and latch knob.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

18.8 cm

Width

11.0 cm

Height

21.8 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Domestic Technology

Category

Laundry

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Charcoal irons were presumably used in Canada from the 1880s up and until the 1950s.

Function

Used to press and smooth textiles.

Technical

Charcoal irons were innovations to the traditional sad iron or cold handle sad iron. They were used in many rural areas up and into the 1950s, as electricity was either unavailable or unreliable. In many developing countries, this style of iron (traditional and not tailor’s) is still quite popular. Charcoal was placed inside the iron. Smoke from the burning charcoal was drawn up through the chimney and away from the clothes. The flue at the back of the iron could be opened or kept shut depending on how much oxygen was needed to keep the charcoals burning. Sizing on irons varied – the larger the size of the iron, the heavier the textile in need of pressing. This particular iron’s size is a 7; required for pressing a regular weight textile.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

'VICTORIA/ DIEU ET MON DROIT/ REGISTERED' embossed on heat shield along with coat of arms. '7in' cast on top of smokestack. '7' embossed inside firebox.

Missing

From CA of 04/07/1994 by Tony Missio: No - Complete

Finish

Fire box polished with varnished? sides. Iron lid painted black. Unfinished copper and/or brass heat shield. Unfinished wooden hand grip & latch knob.

Decoration

Raised leaf-like pattern cast along the edges of the lid, at sides and part of the back. Heat shield has embossed floral motif at the top & bottom, connected by an embossed stitch-like line on either side. Embossed circle at centre contains raised royal coat of arms.