Household tools permitted to be discussed here, I hope?

Poking around an antique shop I found an iron with a cage where live coals were to go to keep the iron hot and, on impulse, I bought it.

That got me to thinking about the history of irons (the sort used to press clothes) and I bought another one, the type that has a thick slab of iron and is heated in a fire. Bought another one like it except the base is curved! No idea what that is for!

Now Lols has found a very early electric iron, $18 tho postage is a bit more. With the lock down in Vic getting it is a bit tricky and possibly I can pick it up on the way to the ferry next month.

There is one more type of iron: it has a little tank at the back. Silly me thought that was for water to steam when ironing particular types of cloth (no idea what cloth!) No, the tank held methylated spirits to feed an alcohol burner so the iron stayed hot all day. I do not know the periods the various types were used in, which were preferred by the people using them a lot, etc.

Tell you what tho: up to at least the first decade of the 20th century even a 14yo housemaid would receive eight pints of porter a day as part of her wages. Domestic service was drudgery of the worst kind! The porter was needed but you can see why so many ended up as drunks. I wonder how many house fires were started by a tipsy housemaid spilling coals or burning metho while doing mounds of ironing?

Need to do a bit of research into all this.