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    Removable Handle Irons
        by Hans Böhm

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Collecting approach and scope (English)

With the invention of the detachable handle iron by Mrs. Mary Potts in 1871, a new era of ironing began.

Gone were the times when women burned their fingers on hot metal strap handles as well as wrapping the handle with pieces of cloth! In America, the development of the Mrs. Potts irons was so successful, that this development came to Europe and manufacturers there were forced to offer similar products.

In order to save the patent royalities, technically very clever handle-detatching mechanisms were constructed which also made it impossible to use the handle of manufacturer "A" on the iron of manufacturer "B"!

Several German manufacturers like Pack, Grossag and Kaltschmidt simultaneously offered different systems of the so called "American Iron".

A largest production of detachable irons came from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia). Many interesting handle variations were created. Accordingly, most of the sets of irons with colored enameled sheet metal covers are from that area.

I´m especially fascinated by the variety of handle configurations and that´s the reason why the priority of my collection is to expand the number of irons with detachable handles.
       Hans Böhm

Collecting approach and scope (German)

Mit der Erfindung des Wechselgriffes durch Mrs. Mary Potts im Jahre 1871 begann eine neue Ära beim bügeln.Vorbei waren die Zeiten,wo Frau sich an heißen Bandeisengriffen die Finger verbrannte,auch das umwickeln der Griffe mit Stofflappen gehörte der Vergangenheit an. Die Entwicklung des Mrs.Potts-Eisens war in den USA ein großer Erfolg,der auch nach Europa überschwappte,und viele Hersteller in Zugzwang brachte,ein ähnliches Produkt anzubieten.

Um Lizenzgebühren zu sparen wurden technisch sehr raffinierte Ausklink-Mechanissmen konstruiert,die nebenbei auch noch verhinderten,dass der Griff des einen Herstellers, auf das Eisen eines andern Herstellers passte.

Einige Deutsche Hersteller ,wie Pack ,Grossag u. Kaltschmidt brachten gleich mehrere verschiedene Systeme von sogenannten -, Amerikaner-Eisen- auf den Markt.

Eine Hochburg der Wechselgriffeisen Produktion war in Böhmen. Dort wurde eine große Anzahl interessanter Griffvariationen kreiert,außerdem stammen die meisten Wechselgriffeisen mit farbig emaillierten Blechhauben von dort.

Mich fasziniert die Vielfalt der Konstruktionen,weshalb einer der Schwerpunkte meiner Sammlung die Erweiterung der Wechselgriffeisen ist.
       Hans Böhm

Click on the thumbnail image to see the full-size image.

Bader & Durst Iron from the BADER & DURST (A. Durst Bader) Foundry in Cannstatt, Germany (a suburb of Stuttgart). The Spring is inside the handle. Very complicated construction. (530bader.jpg)
German Patent Iron (manufacturer unknown) German Patent Iron (manufacturer unknown). (656germanpatent.jpg)
Czech Patent Iron - Maroon This maroon-enameled Czech patent iron (manufacturer unknown) was made in various colors. At the base, there is a stirrup for setting the iron down on an ironing board. (150czechpatent.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (116wgrfbe.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (310NOLA.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (450PORKERT.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (455czechpatent.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (501SIGAMBIG.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (534bajonetver.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (583EXCELSIOR.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (658oxtform.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (674ferdinandstaub.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (677ringverschl.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (704FRAUENLOB.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (150CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (016GermanPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (029SchneiderBE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (039FILAKOVO.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (072CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (073CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (096BADER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (148CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (149CzechPAT.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (005CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (218KUSTERMANN.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (232FERRUM.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (264FallRahmen.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (291PACKS.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (330VOSS.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (355CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (362GermanPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (363BLITZPLÄTTE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (377CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (379HOMA.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (388SchneiderBE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (403BADER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (418ASBESTOS.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (424GermanPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (445CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (451CzechPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (456WELTPLÄTTE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (472OBER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (477AH.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (500GermPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (524UNIVERSAL.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (531GermPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (543SENSIBLE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (561THERMOCELL.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (569BADER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (588OBER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (609GermanPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (613DOVER.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (629SENSIBLE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (642Schraubverschluss.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (645Meyers.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (647SpringLatch.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (648SENSIBLEGROTON.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (656GermPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (658Schraubverschluss.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (659PatAPL.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (674FerdSTAUB.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (677Ringverschluss.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (679IDEALPLÄTTE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (694SCHNELLPLÄTTE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (699Handgeschmiedet.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (702GermPat.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (708ALEXANDERWERK.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (719ASBESTOSsquareback.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (720PAVELIron.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (736BLESS&DRAKE.jpg)
NAME DESCRIPTION (744BEERMANNPat.jpg)

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