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
"good" vintage & antique sad or pressing
irons and laundry related antiques on consignment from my antique sales
website http://www.patented-antiques.com
For more information and to learn how this works, please
see the FAQ page or contact us.
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
to single rare and desirable sad irons. We have sold many
pressing 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 irons
with unusual or patented feature. These can be found on antique fluting
irons, gas or liquid fuel irons, alcohol irons, revolving or reversible
irons, combination irons w/ fluters, pre 1900 electric irons, and
most any other type of unusual
antique pressing irons, both American & European. 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. Rare antique child-size irons, polishing irons, sleeve irons,
or any other unique and early ironing related antique devices are in
demand. 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.
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.
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.comto 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
types 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 for the movie & costume
industry.
Pictured above is the Holly Patent 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 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 which has been known to sell for several
thousand.
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 for rocker fluters
is the common Geneva Flute which is also a rocker style.
When offered on eBay the Geneva routinely sells for about 20.00.
The moral being there can be a huge difference in value for a given
style of fluting iron. That fact does not keep sellers there from
offering them all the time for far more either. The can be interesting to collect, as
there are at least 5 different variations of just the common one, as well as a
few other style Geneva fluters.
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 other odd 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 have sold 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.
OOftentimes one or more of the surfaces
were specially designed for fluting, polishing, glossing, or embossing
designs into the fabric. The Carver 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 accessory 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.
Another 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 from 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 if at all 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.
Please note: The antique pressing irons pictured above are
examples of the caliber, condition and quality that we are
primarily interested in buying & selling and can help you with.
Please check the Iron Past Sales Archive on the right to see what some of
the Irons we have had have sold for in the past
If you have similar irons to those seen here
that you are looking to sell, please email us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.comm
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
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 more common sad irons and are looking to sell them look at eBay for a while and see
what is going on there, or with pressing 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. I can sell them
to you for $$1.00 - 10.00 / ea. There is little demand or value in
common sad irons.
