Artifact: Brass Charcoal Iron
Materials: Brass
Dimensions:
Date: ca. 1800
Origin:
Collection: Jan von Erpecom Photo via Wikimedia Commons
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Ledger Entry: Box Iron and Heaters
Department: Household
Customer: Captain Charles Broadwater
Ledger Page: 70
Imported From: Irons were imported from Great Britain.
Product Description
Irons are used to press wrinkles out of clothing through the application of heat. The simplest form of iron used in the eighteenth century was the flat iron, which were made of solid iron and heated on the stove. Box irons took the same shape as a flat iron with a compartment that iron heaters were inserted into. Charcoal irons were similar to box irons but used burning charcoal rather than iron heaters.
Citation: Seymour, John. Forgotten Household Crafts. (New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.;
Historical Price: 6 shillings, 6 pence; Modern USD: $72.9
Product Variations
The databases record only three purchases of irons. A joynter iron for one shilling four pence, a large plain iron for fifteen pence, and a box iron and heaters for six shillings six pence.
