Posted 2 years ago
dav2no1
(839 items)
COLEBROOKDALE IRON CO POTTSTOWN PA CAST IRON SAD TRIVET
Approximately 6" x 4 3/8"
This is a cast iron trivet for a sad iron. It has some nice decoration with a crown and cross logo.
WHY SO SAD?
Sad” is an old English word for “solid,”. Sad irons, also called flat irons or smoothing irons, are shaped pieces of metal that are flat and polished on one side and have a handle attached to the other, created for the purpose of de-wrinkling fabric. Sad irons are often triangular shape to make it easier to iron around buttons. The heft of a sad iron would help it hold heat, as well as to press the fabric flat.
THE START, A FURNACE AND A RAILROAD
The Colebrookdale Iron Company, located just south of Boyertown on Farmington Avenue, was founded in 1835 and reorganized in 1888. Joseph Bailey, founder of the Colebrookdale Iron Company, was the primary proponent of the Colebrookdale Railroad.
**HISTORY LINK**
https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pottstown/a-piece-of-pottstown-history
dav2no1, Cool. :-)
I was intrigued by that apparent heraldic device in the center of the trivet, a Maltese cross surmounting a crown, so I did some noodling around. No joy.
If anybody had the answer, it was likely this guy, the author of "Birth of the Iron Industry in Pennsylvania: Colebrookdale Furnace":
https://archive.triblive.com/news/derry-township-man-cultivates-museum-on-the-web/
However, all of his research findings are behind a login at ancestry dot com. :-(
Here are a few more interesting links:
https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2A3
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmd41280/36564118721
(Info about the Potts family and Pottstown)
https://ia600902.us.archive.org/4/items/memorialofthomas00injame/memorialofthomas00injame.pdf
Kera.. If you read the link in the first post, it states the founder was a member of old Society of Friends (Quakers). And Quakers are Christians...and the crown and cross are Christian symbols. Not sure if that is the correct answer, but seems to make sense..yes the cross is stylized..
dav2no1, I got sidetracked, and meant to look into the Quaker angle. >8-0
I think this might explain it, huh?:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/No-Cross-No-Crown
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44895/44895-h/44895-h.htm