November 26, 2004 Heritage collections: Connections to the past-A pressing concern

There are many antique collectors and some have a passion for one particular item or category.  I recently had my attention drawn to a fascinating collection of old pressing irons in the South River/Machar Public Library.  Marion Morris, library board member in charge of displays, heard about Don Nicholson’s collection of pressing irons and asked him to put some of them on display.  Don and his wife Ann moved here on Don’s retirement 4 years ago after cottaging in the Burk’s Falls area for years.  Ann will have a display of her crafts at the library in December.  Librarian Jan Heinonen notes that the iron display has attracted a lot of attention. 

I recently visited with Don at the library to see the display and discuss his collection (see photo). Don stopped regularly at antique shops and auctions for years on his weekends north after work at the Ford plant in Aylmer.  He started with one iron and soon began a 10 year search that ended with close to 100 of all sorts. 

Don Nicholson talking about some of the pressing irons in his collection – now on display at the South River/Machar library to December 4.

Before visiting with Don I went on the internet to see if there was anything there on collecting irons (log on to irons.com) My interview with Don and my visit to the internet was very informative.  I discovered that there are many iron collector clubs and an annual convention.  There is an active Ebay service on irons and on the many associated items.  There is even a card collection showing the various irons. 

The original iron was hammered into shape by a blacksmith, soon to be followed by cast iron irons.  These irons are referred to as flat irons or sad irons.  The sad comes from an old English word saad which means heavy.  The weight was a prerequisite before steam was discovered, which was a big help in ironing.  Some people think the sad comes from the way women felt after the long Tuesdays women spent ironing the Monday wash. 

A major breakthrough came in 1871 when a Mrs. Potts got fed up with burning her hand and developed a removable handle that could be attached to different bases on the stove so she could always have a hot iron.  There were soon patents on numerous adaptations of her idea.  The iron on the right in the photo shows a removable top that attaches to the base and holds the heat. 

Some collectors expand their interest to include trivets, washing machines, stoves, sprinkler bottles and miniatures of everything for the girls to play with.  Dan has several irons about 4” long and there were even miniature cast iron stoves for those that could afford them.  There are also various specialty items like the one in the photo used for ironing the flutes in a woman’s skirt, etc. (see photo centre). Ironing boards and special boards for pressing sheets are also collectors’ items. 

With millions of irons needed the industrial age spawned a wide variety of other innovations.  Don has an old iron which is simply a box for charcoal which when heated serves as an iron.  He also has a monstrosity used in professional laundries and looks like an octopus.  It has a natural gas and water connection so you can keep on pressing without a break.  Dan also has several with little naptha or kerosene containers on the back that feed a fire in the iron (see photo of these two items).  

As a result of my discussion with Don and a look for library reference books I discovered that people also collect old packages of soap, dye, and bluing.  The age of electricity with the addition of steam in the iron brought in the modern iron and there is a remarkable variety.  There is also an extensive list of books, catalogues and other literature on the trade.  The bible on irons is by a Mr. Irons whose book is ironically called Iron on Irons (1994). 

The South River/Machar library is open Wednesday 2:00 to 5:00 pm and 6:30 to 8:30pm; Tuesday and Thursday 10am-5pm (closed 12:30 to 1:30); 6:30 to 8:30 Monday and Friday; and Saturday 10am-12 noon.  The display ends Saturday December 4^th.  This is an interesting and educational collection which hopefully can be shared elsewhere in the future.