General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Iron body

Dimensions

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

Length

15.4 cm

Width

7.6 cm

Height

12.8 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

Guelph

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Guelph

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Sad irons were used in Canada from the 1880s up and into the first half of the 20th century. Manufactured by Guelph Enterprise which became Taylor-Forbes; a leading iron manufacturing company in Canada. The iron is part of the Ontario Hydro collection donated to the Museum in 1992. Ontario Hydro had previously acquired the iron from Toronto-Hydro Electric System on January 9th, 1964.

Function

Sad iron with detachable handle used to press flat and/or remove wrinkles from fabrics. Base absorbed and retained heat when the solid body of the iron was placed in close proximity or on an external heat source.

Technical

Sad irons with detachable handles (patented in 1871 in the U.S.A.) are a marked advancement in the history of ironing technologies. They not only increased productivity, as a user could have multiple iron bases being heated at once (and therefore not have to wait for a single iron to re-heat) but also provided a greater level of comfort for the user; wood does not conduct heat and allowed the user a much cooler handle. The sad iron is marked with the number ‘1’ (located near the anchor for the handle) which suggests that this was the first iron in a set of three. These irons were generally sold in sets of three with a detachable handle. The weight of the iron was correlated to the style of the textile (heavier iron for heavier textiles). The sole of the iron needed to be entirely flat in order to eradicate wrinkles and press seams and creases.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Raised letters cast on top read: 'GUELPH ENTERPRISE MFG. CO./ GUELPH CANADA'. Raised number '1' cast on top left. Small black sticker side of iron reads: 'MG2-7'. Large black sticker on side of iron reads: 'MG2/7'.

Missing

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

Finish

Iron painted black. Polished sole.

Decoration

N/A