General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Iron body and handle.

Dimensions

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

Length

13.7 cm

Width

9.0 cm

Height

11.8 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

Smart

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Brockville

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

This flat iron was manufactured by James Smart Manufacturing Company which was one of Canada’s top iron manufacturers at the turn of the 20th century (Ives and Allen and Taylor-Forbes were the other leading iron manufacturers in Canada). This iron is an example of a type 6 flat iron; Smart also manufactured type 4,5,7,8,9, and 10 pound irons. This style of iron was the most basic model that Smart produced; referring to the 1894 catalogue (Ref.3), this iron would have sold for $0.08.

Function

Flat irons or sad irons were heated on a stove and then used to press and smooth textiles.

Technical

The flat iron or sad iron was a precursor to the sad iron with a detachable handle and the sad iron slug. The flat iron was problematic for the user in that heat would readily transfer up and through the handle causing discomfort and, when the base of the iron was no longer hot enough to adequately press the desired textiles, the user would have to take a break from the task of ironing in order to re-heat the flat iron; this meant that it could not be continuously used and that the domestic chore took a longer period of time.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Embossed mfr.'s name on top of handle reads: 'J.SMART'; Embossed letter or number on top of iron reads either 'G' [model?] or '6' [type/weight?].

Missing

From CA of 03/24/1994 by Tony Missio: No - Complete

Finish

Black iron

Decoration

Embossed lines on handle.