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They are actually not tin, but copper with a silver overlay, hammered into an Art Nouveau floral pattern. Table protector makes sense, but I gues that is what a trivet is! The felt was very ratty and polished stained and not nice. I am going to keep them, they are beautiful. Thanks!!
Attachment 611Hello, can you help me with these irons? Grew up with these in my grandparents house holding doors open. Thanks in advance if you can help!
Cuda
Hello, I have asked our expert to take a look. Stay tuned!
Sad Irons were used for general pressing and had different purposes according to their size and shape. A homemaker would have several irons; while one was being used for pressing the others would be heating on a cast iron stove.
Your two sad irons with handles are marked 5 & 6 which, in addition to being the graduated size number, often inferred an iron's approximate weight in pounds. Since there's no lettering on either it's impossible to know the manufacturer. The third iron is a cast iron base into which a levered handle would attach. There appears to be some lettering on this one but unfortunately it's quite worn.
Old sadirons such as these are referred to by collectors as "doorstops" since they have little collectible value but can still perform a utilitarian purpose in today's home as doorstops, bookends or paperweights. Cuda, if you grew up with these in your Grandparent's home it's possible that family members actually used them for ironing! There were rural areas of the United States that didn't get hooked up to electricity until the 1930s and the Amish use sadirons even today.
Anyone interested in antique Pressing Irons and Trivets would enjoy attending the Annual Convention of PITCA: Pressing Iron and Trivet Collectors of America, coming up July 26 & 27, 2012 in Springfield, Illinois. Pressing Iron and Trivet Collectors of America PITCA
Margaret Lynn Rosack
Trivet Worthologist @ Worthpoint
