Iron

Object Name:

Iron

Object ID:

1994.511.05

Description:

Iron for clothes. Wood, steel, iron. Iron body has smooth, flat bottom surface. Back flat. Sides curve forward and inward to a point. Sides flat and about 2" high. Inside surface on bottom is made up of steel bar stock that rests on bottom plate. This plate is about 0.15" thick. Bar stock is about 0.25" high, 0.13" thick. Straight piece of stock parallel to back edge. Gap of 0.22" between it and back piece. This groove is where door fits when pushed downward in place. Another straight piece of bar stock goes from center of back to front. On either side of central piece are two curved spirals of iron that are roughly mirror images of each other. Spirals make more than two complete revolutions. In front of them are two more smaller spirals with single loop. In front of that is a single straight cross-bar. Evidence of much corrosion inside heat chamber. Back of iron is one piece, 0.16" thick, with large rectangular hole in it. Hole is 1.4" high x 3.15" wide. Top of body is thick piece of steel, 0.12" thick, resting on side pieces. It butts against back piece with small slot 0.16" front to back, 3.49" wide. Door passes through this slot. Two roughly square pieces of steel rest against inside vertical surfaces of sides. These seem to fit into holes in bottom of top section. Another roughly square piece at very front of iron that is behind front junction of the two sides. Two iron handles fastened to top surface with square-headed bolts that have single hole in them. They are threaded and pass through circular pad at bottom end of handles. Above pad is semi-circular section that extends upward 1.4", then becomes curved to vertical section and extends upward to a rectangular flat pad. Handle sections taper slightly from top to bottom. Rear handle similarly shaped but has on its vertical flat section a vertical sleeve 0.7" long. Back handle has semi-circular vertical section that turns to vertical section at a sharp curve. Wooden handle, slightly tapered towards its center, 3.8" long, central diameter 0.87". Long rivet passes through front and back handle pads and through center of round wood handle. Ends of rivet are turned over. Rectangular steel door with horizontal top edge 0.4" front to back, 3.5" wide. Top of door extends beyond vertical leaf. Rectangular cast section at center, 0.3" high. Vertical, heavy rectangular wire handle connected to top of door frame that extends vertically through sleeve on back of handle and makes horizontal bend at its top end. Small metal knob (possibly brass) attached to end of lift shaft. Separate, thin leaf spring attached to side of lift shaft to keep door up when it is extended upward. In center of handle is single scribed line, space, two lines, space, then single line. Possible that pitted and worn surfaces are intended decorative feature. Front handle support seems to be replaced piece when compared with other examples.

Material:

Metal
Iron
Wood
Steel

Dimensions:

H-5.9 W-3.8 L-5.4 inches

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Collection