Antique Pressing Irons
Fluters / Gas Irons / Goffer
Irons
Sadirons & More
We are the country's leading internet
dealers in antique & vintage sadirons, pressing irons and laundry related antiques.
I can & will help you sell your vintage & antique sad or
pressing irons and laundry related antiques on consignment from my antique sales website
www.Patented-Antiques.com
For more information and to learn how this works, please see the
FAQ page
Nobody sells or deals with more antique sad or pressing
irons than we do. We 
handle collections of antique pressing irons numbering
from in the thousands
of individual pieces, to single rare and desirable sad irons. We have sold many irons for world record
prices and can help you sell yours.
We are primarily interested in rare and unusual
examples of antique pressing irons, and especially antique fluting irons, gas, alcohol
irons, or other fuel irons, revolving or reversible irons, combination irons,
pre 1900 electric irons and other
unusual antique
pressing irons both American & European. We are particularly
interested in pressing irons with unusual or patented features.
On this page
we will show you different examples of each of the types of collectible ironing devices that we
sell or deal in, along with a brief history
and general idea of values that each type of these irons sell for.
Background / History
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 all over the world. The earliest pressing irons were made
of materials like bones, wood or glass.
Advances in technology and manufacturing led to an
interesting and varied progression in the development of different styles of irons
and how to heat them. From the earliest means where direct heat was
used, to charcoal, gas, and finally electric irons.
In addition to usual sad or pressing irons we are
always interested in unusual fluting irons, goffer irons, and gas or fuel heated irons.
We are also always looking for
unusual patented antique flat irons or sadirons that have unusual features
or handles. Early patented electric
irons (pre-1907) are sought as are antique child-size irons, polishing irons, sleeve
irons, or any other unique and early ironing related antique devices. We are also
interested in 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 or want help selling, contact us via email at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
giving us as many details as possible and we will get back to ASAP.
If you are
interested in buying or want to see how we sell the antique pressing irons
we have for sale please visit our sister site at
www.patented-antiques.com
to view our current offerings of vintage & antique irons we have
listed for sale there.
Machine Fluting Irons
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. Fluters were used for collars, cuffs, etc. and these vintage tools were an invention that saw their heyday
in America from the 1860's through the 1880's. Some very rare and unusual
electric fluting irons 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 typical or common machine fluters generally run from under $100 for more
examples
like the "American" and the "Crown", to well over
$1000 for rare and desirable
ones like the Holly shown here, or the Dion (top left) or the Meyer's patent "goat" fluter.
If you have any antique fluting irons that we can help
you sell
Contact Us
Rocker & Roller Fluting
Irons
The
McClure fluting iron is an example of a 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 known as the Dion, and like the McClure it too is named after the
inventor who patented it.
The Dion fluting iron was patented in
1868 and 1870 and is a highly sought after example that in the past has
sold for as much as 3000. At the other end of the
value spectrum is the common Geneva Fluter which is also a rocker style.
When offered on eBay the Geneva routinely sells for under 20.00. The
moral being there can be a huge difference in value for a given style of
fluting iron.
The most commonly found rocker fluter irons
like "the Best" and others typically sell 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 iron can widely affect value.
A third style of fluting iron
is the roller style
fluter. Here the top piece is manually rolled rather than rocked over the bottom to press
the fabric into the flutes. On the right is a
typical model that in todays market might fetch 40.00 - 50.00.
Unusual irons of this style would be
those with unique handle designs or features. There is one rare
versions called the
"Indicator" because it has a thermometer built into the
fluting plate. Another unusual one that has a double roller on the handle.
Common roller fluters are currently selling
for about $40.00 on eBay these days. We sell rarer models in a range
from 150 - 1000 depending on the specifics.
We are always
selling 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.
Gas Irons
Another
category of
antique pressing irons we are interested in 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., also made
colored enamel irons. These gas irons range in value in good+ condition from as low as $30 or so
for a blue Coleman out of the box in typical used condition, to several hundred dollars
for an unusual color iron in pristine condition in its original box with accessories.
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". Coleman was
manufacturing them into the 60's in Canada for that market and the Amish.
And they are still big buyers of them.
Another
type of gas heated vintage pressing iron that we deal in 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 are the Acme and the
Sultana. Because they do not have a lot of curb appeal, in general
the values are not that great.
Unusual Patented Gas Irons
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. Others from this early time used whale oil
as their fuel source. This type of iron was heated by means of a
burning wick inside the iron. The most
interesting feature of this antique fuel iron is that it 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,
completeness, condition, rarity, and ranges from about a 100 to 1000
or more for rarer and excellent condition ones that surface from time to
time.
Unusual Patented Irons
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. Depending on the condition these sell
in the 100-1000 range. They are often damaged, and rarely found with
their accesory fluting board. Hence the wide value range.
If you know of one, or have one that you want to sell please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.comm
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 
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 24 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.
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
once had a graduated size set of this iron in a wooden box. Things
like that are extremely rare.
If you have similar revolving irons that you are looking
to sell, please email
us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.commAnother
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.
The serious
drawback of this idea was that the handle not only unlocked the body
to allow it to rotate, it actually released completely from the body if
loosened. Even a little. It must have made for a few disastrous situations like
banged or burned toes and fingers.
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. Unusual Patented Irons like this, that
were really "lousy ideas" and were only manufactured for a short period
of time are the type of irons that we are most interested in finding and
helping you sell!
There
are many different types of antique sadirons irons that we can help you
sell. Please let us know if you have
an antique fluting irons, any type of vintage fuel iron, antique child-size or salesman sample
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 that you want to sell. We can also help you sell the cast iron tobacco cutter
made in the shape of a flatiron marked "Scotten Dillon Flat Iron
Plug." if you have one of
those.
Our motto is we sell them all. The good, the bad, the ugly, and
the Great.
If you have any interesting antique ironing related items
you want to sell,
please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.comm
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 at eBay for a while and see what is going on there
for them,
with irons in general, and these more common types specifically.
You will then understand why. We have several hundred of them
floating around if that is what you are looking for, but i generally do
not write them up.
Examples of
Select
Vintage & Antique Pressing Irons
Previously Sold
The antique pressing irons listed above are
examples of the
caliber, condition and quality that we are primarily interested in
buying.& selling
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 currently 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.
We
are currently selling irons there from 3 collections and several
individual consignors totaling over 3000
different irons. There is room for yours as well.
Thank You!
Larry & Carole
