WHEN wood was plentiful and easily gathered, the fireplace was built of generous proportions. At the back, lying in the ashes, was the backlog, sometimes so huge that a chain was attached to it, and it was dragged in by a horse. The forestick rested upon the andirons, and small sticks filled the space between backlog and forestick. In the wall beside the fireplace was built the brick oven, in which the baking was done. Upon baking day a wood fire was made inside this oven, and when the oven was thoroughly heated, the coals were removed, and the bread placed upon the oven bottom to bake leisurely. The tin kitchen was set before the fire, and pies and bread upon its shelves were cooked by the heat reflected and radiated from the tin hood.

Illustration 308 shows a great kitchen fireplace in the Lee mansion in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with the tin kitchens in front of the fire, and the kettles and pots hanging over it, and the various kitchen utensils around it.

Fire-dogs or andirons are mentioned in the earliest inventories.

The name “fire-dogs” came from the heads of animals with which the irons were ornamented. “Andirons” is a word corrupted from “hand irons,” although some inventories speak of end-irons. Kitchen andirons were of iron similar to the ones in Illustration 316, but for the other fireplaces they were made of steel, copper, or brass, and in England even of silver.

Illustration 309 shows a pair of andirons, with shovel and tongs, owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq. The andirons are “rights and lefts,” and have the brass knobs to prevent the forestick from falling forward. Illustration 310 shows another pair belonging to Mr. Bigelow, with claw-and-ball feet and the twisted flame top. These are given as good examples of the best styles of andirons in use in well-to-do households in America during the seventeenth century.

Illustration 311 shows a pair of “Hessians” made of iron. Andirons of this style were very popular immediately after the Revolutionary War, the figures of the hated allies of the British thus receiving the treatment with flame and ashes that Americans considered the originals to merit, to say nothing of worse indignities cast upon them by the circle of tobacco-smoking patriots.

Andirons were made of different heights, and sometimes two or more sets were used in one fireplace, to hold larger and smaller sticks. Creepers are mentioned in early inventories. They were low irons placed between the andirons, to hold short sticks.

As wood grew less plentiful, and as the forests near by were cleared away, it was not so easy to obtain the huge backlog and the great pile of sticks to fill the generous fireplace, and by the middle of the eighteenth century its size had diminished. Many of the larger ones were partially filled in. The fireplace in the Ipswich Whipple house, when the house was bought by the society which now owns it, had been bricked in twice—once to make the space less, and the second time to fill it in entirely and put a fire-frame in its place. Chimneys which did not smoke were the exception until Count Rumford made his researches in heat and light, and by his discoveries and improvements in construction enabled our ancestors to have chimneys which did not smoke, and which did not carry up the greater portion of the heat from the fire.

Illustration 312 shows a fireplace in Salem of about 1775, with ball-topped andirons. The sets for the fireplace comprised the andirons, shovel, and tongs. The poker never accompanied the older sets, which were made before the use of coal as fuel had become common in this country, but a pair of bellows generally formed a part of the equipment of the fireplace.

Illustration 313 shows a fireplace in the residence of Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq., with a brass fender and a pair of “steeple-topped” andirons. Fenders were used in England earlier than in this country, to keep the sticks or coals of fire from rolling or flying out upon the floor in front of the fireplace, and to prevent children from getting into the fire. Their size was adapted to the reduced dimensions of the fireplaces, and they were used more with coal fires than with wood.

The design of andirons most commonly found is shown in Illustration 314. The little andirons between the larger ones are “creepers,” and are used to hold short pieces of wood. They are of the same design as the larger pair, although they were bought several years, and hundreds of miles, apart.

The fender in Illustration 314 is of wire, painted black, with the top rail and balls of brass. The andirons and fender belong to the writer.

Judge Sewall ordered in 1719 for his daughter Judith, about to be married, “a bell-metal skillet, a warming pan, four pairs of brass headed iron dogs, a brass hearth for a chamber with dogs, tongs, shovel and fender of the newest fashion (the fire to lie on the iron), a brass mortar, four pairs of brass candlesticks, four brass snuffers with stands, six small brass chafing dishes, two brass basting ladles, a pair of bellows with brass nose, a small hair broom, a dozen pewter porringers, a dozen small glass salt cellars, and a dozen good ivory hafted knives and forks.”

The appurtenances for the fireplace in this list comprise the fender, shovel, tongs, broom, bellows, and the “dogs.”

Illustration 315 shows a pair of brass andirons and Illustration 316, a set of “brass-headed iron dogs,” such as Sewall ordered. Both pairs belong to Dwight M. Prouty, Esq, of Boston.

By 1650 the use of coal had become common in England from the scarcity and expense of wood as a fuel, and from that time fireplaces in that country were constructed for coal fires. The books of designs of the eighteenth century show many and elaborate drawings of grates for coal. In this country, however, the lack of wood has never been felt, and the fireplace to burn wood has held its own, with its andirons, not so generous as in the early days, but still of goodly size.

Firebacks were made of iron for fireplaces, sometimes cast with the coat-of-arms of the owner or the date of construction. In Pennsylvania were famous iron workers, and there is a collection of iron firebacks in the museum at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia. At Mount Vernon is a fireback with the Fairfax coat-of-arms which Washington took from Belvoir, the estate of Lord Fairfax, adjoining Mount Vernon.

Illustration 317 shows a chimney piece in the west parlor at Mount Vernon. Washington’s coat-of-arms is carved at the top, and his crest and initials are cast in the fireback. In the panel over the mantel is a painting which was sent to Lawrence Washington in 1743, by Admiral Vernon, in acknowledgment of the courtesy shown by Lawrence Washington to his old commander, in naming the estate Mount Vernon. The painting represents Admiral Vernon’s fleet at Cartagena.

About 1750 the hob-grate was invented. Illustration 318 shows a mantel and fireplace with a hob-grate in the house of Charles R. Waters, Esq., of Salem. The fireplace was filled in with brick or stone at each side, and the grate set between.

The bars, of course, are of iron for holding coal, and the sides of the grate are of brass. These were at first called “cat-stones” to distinguish them from “fire-dogs,” but later they were named “hob-grates.”

Below the grate is a small brass fender to prevent the ashes from scattering, and around the fireplace is a fender of iron wire with brass rails and feet. The hob-grate was more in use in the South than in the North.

In 1745, after many experiments, and goaded to it by the smoking chimneys and wasted heat of the fireplace, Franklin invented the stove in use ever since, called the Franklin stove or grate. Illustration 319 shows a Franklin stove in the Warner house at Portsmouth. The fireplace, faced with tiles, was originally built to burn wood, but when the new-fashioned Franklin stove became popular, one was bought and set into the fireplace, the front of the stove projecting into the room. The stove is made of iron, with the three rosettes, the open-work rail at the top, the large knobs in front and the small knobs at the back, of brass, which every good housekeeper kept as brightly polished as the brass andirons and the handles of the shovel and tongs. At each side of the fireplace are the original brass rests for the shovel and tongs.

Later in the century the fireplace was filled in with a board or bricks, and what was called a fire-frame was used. It was similar to the upper part of a Franklin stove; the back and sides of iron, somewhat larger than those of the Franklin stove, resting directly upon the stone hearth, giving the effect of an iron fireplace in front of the old one. Oftentimes in an old house may be found a large fireplace filled in, with the iron fire-frame in front of it, that in its turn superseded by a stove placed with its pipe passing through the fire-frame. Illustration 320 shows a fire-frame in the Wayside Inn at Sudbury, Massachusetts.

Candles and whale oil, with pine-wood knots, provided the light for the Pilgrim fathers, aside from that thrown out by the great wood fire. Candlesticks formed a necessary part of the furnishings of a house. They were made of brass, iron, tin, pewter, and silver, but candlesticks of brass were the ones in most general use.

The earliest form of lamp in use in the colonies was what is known as a “betty lamp,” and it must have been a most untidy little utensil, giving but a meagre light. Illustration 321 shows several betty lamps owned by the writer. The smallest is of iron, two and a half inches in diameter, with a nose projecting one inch and a quarter beyond the receptacle for grease or fat.

A chain and hook are attached to the handle, by which the lamp was hung upon a chair-back or a nail. The wick, made of a twisted cotton rag, was placed with its end protruding from the nose of the lamp, and provided a dull, poor flame. Another lamp has the chain and the receptacle for grease made of brass, while the handle, the hook by which it was to hang, and the pin for cleaning the lamp, attached to the chain, are of steel. The bottom of the brass receptacle is of copper. There is a cover to the front part of this lamp, so that the interior can be cleaned, and the piece of steel forming the handle runs through the interior of the lamp, the end providing a nose for the wick just inside of the brass one, thus allowing the drippings from the wick to drain back into the receptacle.

The lamp with a standard has an iron rod, upon which the lamp can slide up and down, with a ring at the top of the rod to lift it by. The fourth betty lamp is hung upon an old wooden ratchet intended for that purpose. The ratchet is made of two strips of wood, one cut with saw-teeth edge, which can be raised and lowered to place the lamp at the desired height. Betty lamps were in use during the seventeenth century, and much later than that in the South.

As early as 1696, inventories mention a “Candle-stand for two brass candlesticks.” Illustration 322 shows two of these candle-stands in the collection of the late Major Ben Perley Poore at Indian Hill. The larger stand is made of iron, and was fashioned by the local blacksmith, near Indian Hill. It was taken by the grandfather of Major Poore to Harvard University when he went there a student in 1776. The tongs hanging upon this stand are a smoker’s tongs, for lifting a coal from the fire to light the pipe, the curved end on one side of the handle being used to press the tobacco into the pipe, or to clean it out. The three feet of the other stand are of iron, and the pole, candlesticks, and two pairs of snuffers are of brass. These stands probably were made during the first half of the eighteenth century. The room, a corner of which shows in the illustration is fitted with panels from the “Province House,” the home at one time of Agnes Surriage. The pillars showing behind the candle-stands were taken from the old Brattle Street Church in Boston when it was pulled down. One end of a Sheraton sofa may be seen in the picture, and several of the illustrations for this book were taken in this fine room.

Illustration 323 shows a mantel in the house of Mrs. Johnson-Hudson at Stratford, Connecticut. The looking-glass frame is made entirely of glass. Upon the shelf are two candlesticks, and over them are large glass shades, called hurricane glasses, used to protect the flame from draughts. These shades are now reproduced, and it is almost impossible to tell the old from the new. The clock upon the shelf is a very old English one, but the reflections upon the glass cover make it difficult to see the clock. The effect of this mantel, with the glass shades, all reflected in the looking-glass, is most brilliant. The candlesticks are of Sheffield plate, about one hundred years old.

Illustration 324 shows two candlesticks owned by the writer. The one shaped like a mug with a handle is of Sheffield plate, and was made for use in a sick-room or any place where it was necessary to burn a light during the entire night. There should be a glass chimney to fit into the candlestick and protect the flame from draughts. The open-work band around the candlestick allowed the passage of air, thus insuring a clear flame. The long-handled extinguisher upon the rest provided for it was to put out the light of a candle which was protected by a chimney or by glass shades such as are in Illustration 323.

The other candlestick is of brass, with extinguisher and snuffers which were made to fit the candlestick, the ordinary handleless extinguisher serving to put out the flame of any candle unprotected by a chimney or shade.

In 1784 a Frenchman named Argand invented the lamp still called by his name. The first Argand lamp brought to this country was given by Thomas Jefferson to Charles Thomson. These lamps gave what was then considered to be a brilliant and even dazzling light, but their price placed them beyond the reach of ordinary folk, who continued to use tallow candles. Wax candles were burned by the wealthy, in candlesticks and sconces, and occasionally in chandeliers.

Illustration 325 shows a rich chandelier for candles, in the Warner house, at Portsmouth. It was probably brought to this country about 1765, the same date that other handsome furnishings were bought for this house. The metal work of this chandelier is of brass. Chandeliers with glass drops are spoken of in the sixteenth century, coming from Venice.

Illustration 326 shows one of the pair of beautiful lamps which are fastened to the wall above the mantel of the banquet hall at Mount Vernon, and which were in use there during the life of Washington. They are made of silver, with the reservoir for oil of a graceful urn shape.

Eliza Susan Morton Quincy gives a description of the house of Ebenezer Storer in Boston, and in it she says: “The ceilings were traversed through the length of the rooms, by a large beam cased and finished like the walls; and from the centre of each depended a glass globe, which reflected as a convex mirror, all the objects in the room.” These globes also reflected the light from candles in the room.

From the rafters or ceiling in plainer homes hung sometimes a candle beam, a rude chandelier, made of two pieces of metal crossed or a circle of metal, with sockets for candles fixed upon them.

The chandelier in Illustration 327 is for candles, and is without doubt the finest one of its period in this country. It is in the Pringle house in Charleston, South Carolina, and it was probably placed in the house when it was built in 1760, at which time it was furnished with great elegance. It is amazing that so frail a thing as this glass chandelier with all of its shades should have survived the Civil War, and still more, the earthquake which laid low a large part of the city, but not one shade has been shaken down. There are twenty-four branches to the chandelier, twelve in each row, and a large glass shade for each candle, to protect the flame from the draughts. The long chains hang from a bell of glass, from which fall glass drops, and from a large bowl spring the branches with their tall shades, and between them are glass chains with drops. The glass chains are very light and the chandelier is not loaded with heavy drops. It is impossible to imagine anything more light and graceful in effect.

“Skreans” are mentioned in very early inventories, and indeed they must have been a necessity, to protect the face from the intense heat of the large open fire. They afforded then, as now, an opportunity for the display of feminine handiwork. The dainty little fire-screen in Illustration 328 was made about 1780, and is owned by Mrs. Johnson-Hudson of Stratford, Connecticut. The frame and stand are of mahogany, and the spreading legs are unusually slender and graceful. The embroidered screen was wrought by the daughters of Dr. William Samuel Johnson, the first president of Columbia University. The same young girls embroidered the top of the card-table in Illustration 199, and the work is done with the same patient industry and skill. The vase which is copied in the embroidery is of Delft, and is still owned in the family.

A very curious and interesting piece of work is shown in Illustration 329. It forms the back of a sconce owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq., and in his book “Historic Silver of the Colonies,” Mr. Bigelow describes the candle bracket, made in 1720 by Knight Leverett, which fits into the socket upon the frame. Benjamin Burt, the silversmith, in his will left to a niece “a sconce of quill work wrought by her aunt.” In 1755 a Mrs. Hiller advertised to teach “Wax work, Transparent and Filligree, Quill work and Feather work.” “Quill work” is made of paper of various colors, gilt upon one side, rolled tightly, like paper tapers. Some were pulled out into points, others made into leaf and petal-shaped pieces, and when finished they were coated with some waxy substance, and sprinkled with tiny bits of glass, all in gay colors, and when the candles were lighted the quill work glistened and sparkled.

The quill work in this sconce is made into an elaborate design of a vase with flowers, and it is set into a very deep frame, and covered tightly with glass, which accounts for its perfect preservation. The top ornament to the frame is cut in the manner of looking glass frames of the period.

The tripod screen in Illustration 330 is owned by Dwight M. Prouty, Esq. The little shelf for the candlestick drops on a hinge when not in use. The tripod feet have a light springing curve, and end in a flattened claw-and-ball. The original embroidery is still in the frame.

Another tripod screen is shown in Illustration 331. It is owned by Cornelius Stevenson, Esq., of Philadelphia. The embroidery and the frame upon it were made in the nineteenth century but the stand is much earlier and is finely carved in the Chippendale style, with the French foot. Three serpents encircle the pole, from which they are completely detached. The wood is mahogany.

Screens were sometimes made of a piece of wood perforated, in order that the heat might not be entirely shut off. Illustration 332 shows one of these screens in the collection of the late Major Ben: Perley Poore.

Both the screen and the candle-stand in the illustration are made of mahogany. The candlestick upon the stand is a curious one, of brass, with a socket for the candle set upon an adjustable arm, which also slides upon a slender rod, which is fastened into the heavily weighted standard. Both screen and candle-stand were made in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Candle-stands were designed by all the great cabinet-makers, and in those days of candlelight they were a useful piece of furniture.

A candle-stand in the finest Chippendale style is shown in Illustration 333. It is one of a pair owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq. The intention was presumably that a candle-stand with candelabrum should be placed at each side of the mantel. A pair of candle-stands similar to this are in the banquet hall at Mount Vernon, and are among the few pieces of furniture there which are authenticated as having been in use during Washington’s occupancy of the house. The candle-stand in the illustration is forty-two inches high, and its proportions are beautiful. The legs and the ball at the base of the fluted pillar are very finely carved. The legs end in the French foot, the scroll turning forward, which was such a favorite with Chippendale. The top is carved out so that there is a raised rim, like that upon the “dish-top” table in Illustration 246.

The first recorded instance in this country of lighting by artificial gas is in 1806, when David Melville of Newport, Rhode Island, succeeded in manufacturing gas, and illuminated his house and grounds with it. In 1822 Boston was lighted by gas, but it did not come into general use for lighting until 1840-1850.

During the second quarter of the nineteenth century it was fashionable to use candelabra and lamps which were hung with cut-glass prisms. Sets of candelabra for the mantel were very popular, consisting of a three-branched candelabrum for the middle and a single light for each side. The base was usually of marble, and the gilt standard was cast in different shapes,—of a shepherd and shepherdess, a group of maidens, or a lady clad in the costume of the day. From an ornament at the base of the candle, shaped like an inverted crown, hung sparkling prisms, catching the light as they quivered with every step across the room. A handsome set of these is shown in Illustration 318 upon the mantel.

Illustration 334 shows a set of mantel lamps of bronze, mounted upon marble bases and hung with cut-glass prisms. The reservoir for the oil is beneath the long prisms. This set is owned by Francis H. Bigelow, Esq.

Illustration 335 shows a fine pair of brass gilt candelabra also owned by Mr. Bigelow. They have marble bases, and the five twisted arms are cast in an elaborate design.

Illustration 336 shows a hall lantern which was formerly in use in the John Hancock house. It is now owned by Harry Harkness Flagler, Esq. Such lanterns were hung in the entry or hall, and were made to burn either a lamp or candle. “Square glass, bell glass, barrel or globe lanthorns for entries or staircases” were advertised as early as 1724 and formed a necessary furnishing for the hall of a handsome house.

Illustration 337 shows a hall lantern owned by Dwight M. Prouty, Esq. It is of a globe shape, and very large and handsome, with deep cutting on the glass. The bell-shaped piece of glass above is missing. This bell was to prevent the smoke of the candle from blackening the ceiling. The metal piece below the globe contains the socket and can be removed to change the candle.

Illustration 338 shows one of two lanterns hung in the hall of the house built for the Pendelton Collection, in Providence. It is unusually large, and the glass is red with cuttings of white. Instead of chains the lantern is held by scrolls of metal like the frame of the glass. Such a lantern as this may have been in the mind of Peter Faneuil of Boston when in 1738 he sent to Europe for “a very handsome Lanthorne to hang in an Entry way.”

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