The Green County Historical Museum has in its permanent collection numerous vintage clothes irons. The two shown here are fluting irons, and both were manufactured by W.H. Howell Company of Geneva, Ill.
The Howell Company produced fluting irons from 1866 to 1920 and was one of the largest manufacturers of irons in the world. The iron shown on the left was donated by the Monroe Board of Education in 1950, and the iron on the RIGHT was donated in 1952 by the late Flora Bengelsdorff (1862-1955) of Monroe.
A fluting iron was sometimes called a "crimping iron" and was used for pleating skirts or ironing ruffles on women's clothing, particularly on cuffs and collars.
Both irons consist of 2 pieces: the iron and the base. They measure about 6 inches in length, 4 inches in width, and weigh together about four pounds.
The fluting iron on the left states on the underside of the base that it was patented August 21, 1866, and has the instruction "Heat This." The iron itself is marked "Geneva Hand Fluter" and the top of the iron handle is marked "Geneva, Ill."
The iron on the right is marked "Improved Fluter," because it was made of brass rather than cast iron, and it had a hinged lid on the base where a heated metal slug could be placed, eliminating the need of putting the whole base on the wood-burning stove to heat. This improvement reduced the chance of getting one's white clothing dirty with soot from the stove.
In addition to the fluting irons, the Howell Company also specialized in cast-iron sad irons. Sad irons were used to press wrinkles from clothing and were usually sold in sets of two or more so that one iron could be used while the other was left to heat up on the stove.The irons often weighed as much as 10 pounds, thus the name "sad," which is an old English term meaning heavy.
The Howell Company produced fluting irons from 1866 to 1920 and was one of the largest manufacturers of irons in the world. The iron shown on the left was donated by the Monroe Board of Education in 1950, and the iron on the RIGHT was donated in 1952 by the late Flora Bengelsdorff (1862-1955) of Monroe.
A fluting iron was sometimes called a "crimping iron" and was used for pleating skirts or ironing ruffles on women's clothing, particularly on cuffs and collars.
Both irons consist of 2 pieces: the iron and the base. They measure about 6 inches in length, 4 inches in width, and weigh together about four pounds.
The fluting iron on the left states on the underside of the base that it was patented August 21, 1866, and has the instruction "Heat This." The iron itself is marked "Geneva Hand Fluter" and the top of the iron handle is marked "Geneva, Ill."
The iron on the right is marked "Improved Fluter," because it was made of brass rather than cast iron, and it had a hinged lid on the base where a heated metal slug could be placed, eliminating the need of putting the whole base on the wood-burning stove to heat. This improvement reduced the chance of getting one's white clothing dirty with soot from the stove.
In addition to the fluting irons, the Howell Company also specialized in cast-iron sad irons. Sad irons were used to press wrinkles from clothing and were usually sold in sets of two or more so that one iron could be used while the other was left to heat up on the stove.The irons often weighed as much as 10 pounds, thus the name "sad," which is an old English term meaning heavy.