General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Cast iron.

Dimensions

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

Length

16.5 cm

Width

8.4 cm

Height

4.7 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

Taylor Forbes

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 byTaylor-Forbes; a leading iron manufacturing company in Canada. The iron is part of the Ontario Hydro collection donated to the Museum in 1992.

Function

Sad iron set 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. It appears that sad iron ‘3’ is the only iron to have nickel plating; this suggests a mixing of two sets of irons. 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

'TAYLOR-FORBES/ GUELPH CANADA' embossed on top along with the number '1' embossed on either side of centre top where handle locks in.

Missing

From CA of 04/08/1994 by Tony Missio: No - Complete

Finish

Iron, unfinished.

Decoration

N/A