Smoothing iron
Description
Heavy block metal smoothing iron with twisted handle design. Long and thin with pointed nose, high sides and moulded top edge. c.1840s.
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Object detail
Artist/Maker
Production period
Classification
Credit line
For
many
hundreds
of
years,
heated
metal
irons
have
been
used
to
smooth
textiles
and
clothing.
For
most
of
that
time
they
were
heated
by
open
fires
and
stoves
with
“slugs”
of
iron
or
charcoal
inside.
In
the
early
20th
Century,
kerosene
or
white
spirit
burners
were
incorporated
into
the
iron
to
heat
them.
This
dangerous
method
was
soon
superseded
by
electric
irons.
Accession number
A68.603
Collection type
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