Description:
Cast iron parlor stove with raised scroll and floral design and decorative, removable urn, which is marked "JOHNSON & COX. TROY. N.Y. NO. 2 / COMMERCIAL PARLOR. PAT'D. 1849." This stove came from the only Greek Revival house, just south of the Wells-Thorn House on The Street, Deerfield, Massachusetts, built by Edwin Ware (1802-1870) in 1841, which remained in the family until 1900. The stove came to the donors from Margery Howe, longtime resident of the home when it was rented by Deerfield Academy. Howe was also friends with the owner of the Ware home at the time, Frederick Hyde. Cast iron stovemaking reached its highest artistic achievement and technological advancements between 1840 and 1870. During the 19th century, Albany and Troy manufacturers were considered to be among the largest producers of cast-iron stoves in the world. Stoves made in these two upstate New York cities were renowned for their fine quality castings and innovations in technology and design. The strategic location of Albany and Troy, located nine miles apart on opposite banks of the Hudson River, afforded easy and inexpensive transportation of raw materials to the foundries, and finished stoves to worldwide markets. The raw materials for stovemaking were abundantly available in the region. The iron ore came mainly from New York State, and the limestone was obtained from the counties surrounding Albany and Troy. Charcoal was also produced locally, and the finest molding sand in the world came from nearby Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties. Elias Johnson (one of the owners of the firm who made this stove) began his career building cast iron stoves, and then later munitions used in the Mexican American War, for the well established Johnson, Cox & Fuller operating out of Troy, New York. Later, Johnson quit partnership and went into business with his son, Isaac Gail Johnson, to form the Johnson Iron Works.
Label Text:
During the 19th century, Albany and Troy manufacturers ranked among the largest and most technologically advanced producers of cast-iron stoves in the world. The strategic location of the two cities, nine miles apart on opposite banks of the Hudson River near the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal, afforded inexpensive transportation of raw materials to the foundries, and finished stoves to worldwide markets. Stovemaking materials were abundantly available in the region; iron ore came mainly from New York State, and limestone and charcoal were obtained near Albany and Troy. Molding boxes known as “flasks” used fine sand from Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties to create castings. Wooden molds pressed into the sand mixed with moistened clay imparted patterns into which workmen poured molten iron. After cooling, the castings were taken to the finishing and mounting rooms, where they were machined and assembled. This stove was once a part of the furnishings of the 1841 Edwin Ware House on Deerfield’s Main Street.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2008.21 |
