Antique Pressing Irons
Fluters / Gas Irons / Goffer
Irons
Sadirons & More
We are always interested in rare and unusual
examples of antique pressing irons, and especially antique fluting irons, g
as, alcohol
irons, or other fuel irons, revolving or reversible irons, combination irons, and other antique
pressing irons with unusual patented features.
We are avid buyers & sellers of
unusual antique and
vintage pressing irons / sadirons / flatirons for addition to our
sale pages of antique irons on our sister site
www.patented-antiques.com.
On this page you will see a few different examples of
each of these types of collectible ironing devices that we want, along with a brief history
and general idea of values for each type of these irons.
The history of
pressing irons is closely related
to the history of fashion, and ironing devices have been produced throughout time in response to the
need to press the specific styles of clothes that were in fashion at any
particular time. Advances in technology and manufacturing led to an
interesting and varied progression in the development of different means to heat the
many different styles of irons.
In addition to unusual fluting irons and gas or fuel heated irons we are also always looking for
unusual patented antique flat irons or sadirons, early patented electric
irons (pre-1907),
unusual antique child-size irons, polishing irons, sleeve
irons, or any other unique and early ironing related antique devices. We are also
interested in buying any ironing related advertising or early store
displays for ironing devices.
If you have any unique
or unusual antique pressing irons
that are for sale, via email at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
giving us as many details as possible including the
asking price.
If you are interested in purchasing antique
pressing irons be sure to go to our sister site at
www.patented-antiques.com
to view our current offerings that we have available there.
Fluting
irons are one of the most interesting type of antique pressing irons ever invented, and were
designed
to crimp, ruffle and press little pleats into starched
fabric. Used for collars, cuffs, etc. these vintage tools were an invention that saw their heyday
in America from the 1860's through the 1880's, but
some very rare and unusual ones were made right into the 1920's. Pictured here are two different types of
antique fluting
irons. The Holly is a
machine fluter--- it operates by means of a hand crank which crimps
the fabric as it transports it between the two fluted rollers. Machine fluters are also referred to as pleaters, or pleating irons, crimpers,
crimping irons, or rufflers
and came in a myriad of designs---some had pedestal or tripod bases, some
were clamp-on models.
Values for machine fluters generally run from under $100 for more
common examples
like the "American" and the "Crown", to well over
$1000 for rare and desirable
ones like the Dion or the Meyer's patents "goat" fluter---so
if you have any antique fluting irons that you would like to sell be sure to
let
us know.
The
McClure fluting iron is an example of an usual rocker fluter. It is the name and
the makers name of this fluter that make it rare, not the style, which is 
the
most commonly found design of all fluting irons. With this rocker style of antique
fluting
iron the ironer would manually rock the top half
of the iron over the bottom half with the
fabric in-between. The iron pictured in the very top left corner of
this page is
another example of a desirable and interesting antique rocker fluter that
we are seeking to buy known as the Dion, and like the McClure it too is named after the
inventor who patented it. This Dion fluting iron was patented in
1868 and 1870 and is a highly sought after example. At the other end of the
value spectrum is the common Geneva Fluter which is a rocker style.
The most commonly found style of rocker fluter iron typically sells for under $30
these days. This is just one example of how small variations in a given model or
subtle variations in features in
an antique can widely affect value.
A third style of fluting iron
is the roller style
fluter, where a the top piece is
manually rolled rather than rocked over the bottom to press
the fabric into the flutes. Unusual irons of this style would be
those with unique handle shapes or features. There is one rarer
version called the
"Indicator" with a thermometer built into the
fluting plate, and another that has a double roller on the handle. We are always
buying unusual
examples of all styles of antique fluting irons, so if you have one that you think we would be
interested in, please contact us at LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
with the details. Common roller fluters are currently selling
for about $40.00 on eBay these days. If a rare one appeared, it
might bring several hundred on a good day.
Another
category of
antique pressing irons we are interested in buying are fuel
irons of every type---antique irons that were heated by gasoline, kerosene,
alcohol, natural gas, carbide-acetylene, or over a gas-jet or lamp, etc. Perhaps the
best known and most commonly found or offered for sale of this style of
iron is the blue enamel
Coleman gasoline iron. Blue is by far the most commonly seen color, but
Coleman also made irons in many other colors that are more
desirable---turquoise, red, green, tan, etc. Other manufacturers,
such as American Machine Co., made
colored enamel irons as well that are also eagerly sought. These irons range in value in good+ condition from as low as $30 or so
for a blue Coleman in typical used condition to several hundred dollars
for an unusual color iron in pristine condition in its original box with accessories.
We are always seeking to purchase the more unusual colored enameled gas irons.
Fuel irons from Sears and Montgomery Wards are considered very common, and
even when found like new the box sell for very little. These
companies were still selling these well after WWII to regions that had
not fully been incorporated into the "grid".
Another
type of gas heated vintage pressing iron that we are buying is the gas jet style. This
style of antique iron at first glance resembles a common cast iron
"doorstop" sadiron
but closer inspection
reveals a hollowed out, rather than solid body. These irons were
designed to be heated directly by a kerosene lamp or by a wall-mounted gas jet
apparatus, and were hung on the apparatus and inverted over it so the
interior of the iron could be directly exposed to the hot flame. These gas
jet irons come in both full size and smaller travel or portable
sizes. The iron shown here is McCarty's patent, which was granted in
1879. Examples of smaller gas jet irons that we buy are the Acme and the
Sultana.
One example of
a very interesting early fuel iron is the c.1870 Crocker Farnsworth
reversible iron pictured here. This is an 
alcohol burning iron which is recognizable from the style and
shape of the fuel tank. This type of iron was heated by means of a
burning wick inside the iron, and other similar style irons were fueled by
whale oil or by denatured alcohol. The most
interesting feature of this antique fuel iron is that it also revolves, meaning that the handle could be released
by means of a thumb latch and the iron body could be revolved 180 degrees
and then locked back into place,
providing for a secondary ironing surface to use after the first side had
cooled down.
The theory behind the revolving iron was that heat
rises and therefore the top of the iron body would retain its heat longer
than the bottom, so that if you kept turning the iron over you would always
get to work with the hotter side. Antique revolving pressing irons are scarce and
most are eagerly sought by collectors. Their value depends on their appearance,
condition, rarity, and ranges from about a hundred dollars to five hundred
or more for rarer and excellent condition ones that surface from time to
time.
Other antique revolving irons
were heated by means of a hot chunk of metal called a slug that was
inserted into the body. Revolving slug irons often featured
two, three, or even four different ironing surfaces. 
In other words, after the
handle was released
the body could be revolved and the handle then locked back into place so that the top or either of the edges
of the iron body could be used after the bottom had cooled
down. Oftentimes one or more of the surfaces were specially designed for fluting, polishing, glossing, or embossing designs
into the fabric. The Horace Mann patent pressing irons pictured here
are an example of this type of iron. These irons were manufactured
with a variety of names such as the Family Laundry Iron, Victor,
Majestic, etc. The rotation mechanism and the door itself as well as
the latch for it are all very fragile on these irons and often found
broken or damaged.
If you know of one, or have one that is for sale, please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
Other revolving antique irons were patented by inventors
named Hewitt and Mann, and two of these unusual antique combination
fluting / pressing irons are pictured here. These 
solid body irons were heated directly on
the stove and combined the features of both a flat iron and a fluter in
one iron. Both of these irons revolved to allow for use
of all four sides so that the iron could be used to iron flatwork, to
polish and gloss, and to make pleats and ruffles, depending on which side
of the iron was in use. The difference between the two irons is that
one had built-in fluting grooves on one side of the iron while the other
had a fluter plate that could be attached or removed. This removable
piece is often missing, and it's loss greatly affects the value of this
iron. A third
version of this style iron that we are looking to buy has two sets of roller
fluters built-in to the bottom rather than the fluting plate design.
In general condition and completeness is important to these type of irons value.
Revolving
irons were also used by tailors and in commercial applications. The
unusual revolving iron pictured here was heated by means of natural gas and weighs
a whopping 20 or more pounds and is about 15 inches across. The
weight of the iron was
thought to make for an easier job in the pressing
of wool suits and coats and other heavy garments. And as with the
smaller
"homeowners" models of revolving irons, this huge tailors iron
could be flipped over by means of a handle release so that the second side
of the iron could be put to use once the first side had done its job and
began to cool down. As you can imagine an iron of this size and
weight and size would have taken a strong man to maneuver, and the added
costs and time to produce such a mechanical device would have been cost
prohibitive in most cases and so revolving
tailors irons are seldom found and considered very unusual.
We are avid buyers of antique revolving and reversible pressing irons If you have any that are for sale, please email
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
with details.
Another
extremely unusual revolving pressing iron is the Avery patent sadiron that
is pictured 
here.
This design permitted the iron to be turned on any of its four surfaces by
loosening the wing nut built into the handgrip. However the serious
drawback of this guy's idea was that the handle not only unlocked the body
to allow it to rotate, it actually released completely from the body if
loosened too much, and must have made for a few disastrous situations like
banged or burned toes. I am sure his idea was meant to make life
easier, but the truth is it takes three hands to reattach and tighten the
handle in place, and that is when it is cold. Irons like this that
were "lousy ideas" and were therefore only manufactured for a short period
of time are the type that we are most interested in buying!
There
are many different types of antique sadirons irons that we are interested in buying, so
be sure to let us know if you have
an antique fluting iron, any type of fuel iron, antique child-size or salesman sample
small irons, special purpose irons of any sort, figural
irons such as swans, goats, trains, flower irons or leaf irons, early
electric irons (1907 or earlier) or patented antique irons in unusual
shapes. We are also avidly seeking to buy a cast iron tobacco cutter
made in the shape of a flatiron marked "Scotten Dillon Flat Iron
Plug."
If you have any interesting antique ironing related items,
please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com and
give us the details, as we will buy one iron or your whole
collection!
Please note: The reason you do not see any
doorstop variety irons, or simple irons without any special features, or
electric irons from the 50's -70's discussed here is because we generally do not buy
them. If you have these types of irons and are looking to sell them
look over at eBay for a while and see what is going on there
with irons in general, and these more common types specifically.
Examples of
Select Antique Pressing Irons Wanted
The antique pressing irons listed above are
examples of the
caliber, condition and quality of these pieces that I am primarily interested in
buying.
If you have quality antiques similar to those that
you see on these pages that you want to sell, please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
providing as many details as possible. Thank you!!
To see other examples of antique pressing irons
that we have for sale please go to our sister site
at www.Patented-Antiques.com.and
visit the antique iron sale pages you will find there.
