The Stove Collection

"Hot times at Hyde Hall!" by Gilbert T. Vincent

George Clarke "The Builder" was at the forefront of house-owners using cast-iron stoves, partly by an inclination for new technology, but also because he was close to the Albany-Troy area, which was evolving as one of the largest centers for stove production in the US from the 1820s. His interest in the latest technology for comfortable living is one of the characteristics of Hyde Hall. Heating the house was a concern in the cold climate of Otsego County, which was so different from Clarke's native England. When completed in 1834 Hyde Hall had eleven chimneys and four distinct types of heat, from the traditional open fireplace to a central heating system using a hot air furnace. The most numerous components of the systems used to heat Hyde Hall were cast-iron stoves. There are twenty-three stove thimbles, thus indicating at least that number of stoves. Three or four thimbles were for cooking stoves in the Main Kitchen, Back Kitchen, and Still Room, but the rest were used to heat the many rooms or hallways.

Hyde Hall’s first stoves came from the Oneida Iron and Glass Manufacturing Company in Taberg, New York. Clarke was a shareholder and used their cast-iron products not only at Hyde Hall, but to pay a part of the wages of the workers building Hyde Hall. He also purchased more sophisticated stoves in Albany from hardware merchants such as Spencer Stafford or foundries such as Joel Rathbone and Company. Of the twenty-three or so stoves originally in the house, only three remain from George Clarke's era. Over the succeeding years and generations, some stoves were replaced by newer and more efficient models, others were removed following New York State's acquisition of the house in 1965. The following are stoves Clarke purchased as well as a few others now on site that are wonderful examples of early 19th-century American stove production.

1. BOX STOVE

Made by J. and I. Townsend, Albany, New York 1833

67 h" X 40" X 26" Purchased by George Clarke

The most outstanding and unusual stove at Hyde Hall is the large box stove in the Entrance Hall. An extensive bill in the Clarke Papers documents the construction of the stove and lists 73 cast parts. The total for carving the wooden molds, casting, and shipping came to $264.38, a sizable sum at the time when the cost for most stoves was between $20 and $50. The stove is built into the western wall with access to the firebox by two cast-iron doors in the stair hall behind it. The design incorporates a variety of architectural details derived from classical Greek architecture. The stove may be unique.

2. BOX STOVE

Attributed to Oneida Iron and Glass Manufacturing Company, Taberg, New York c. 1819 25" x 17 h" x 30"; Purchased by George Clarke

The small box stoves located in two of the children's bedrooms are attributed to the Taberg foundry by tradition and exhibit the simplicity and rough casting typical of small rural foundries using the open sand-casting technique. Composed of six plates, the stove shown here has sides decorated with Ionic columns supporting a lintel as well as circular motifs, all composed of shallow fluting in the Adamesque style. Such decoration was meant to coordinate with details used on furniture of the period and make the stove more acceptable. As the casting techniques became more sophisticated in the 1830s and 1840s, elaborate designs proliferated. Hyde Hall is an early example of replacing open fireplaces with wood stoves with no attempt to place them within an architectural framework in any of the rooms. They stand on their own.

3. PARLOR STOVE

RATHBONE & CO ALBANY, Made by Joel Rathbone, Albany, New York c. 1835-1844 56" x 32" x 21"; Gift of Allen and Judy Brick Freedman

Parlor stoves were designed for public rooms, particularly the parlor in middle-class homes. Thus, they were larger and more elaborate than the heating stoves used for bedrooms. Located in the Family Dining Room, the Rathbone stove includes a classical urn to hold water that humidified the room. Another feature is the sheet of mica backing the central panel that showed the glow of the fire. Rathbone transformed the stove industry with a new casting technique that allowed for finer and more elaborate detail as well as creating large scale repetitive production. A comparison with the Taberg stoves demonstrates this development.

4. MOTT PATENT STOVE

J.L. MOTT'S/PATENT, Made by Jordan L. Mott, New York City c. 1835

21 1/2" x 18 1/2" x 24 1/2"; Gift of Mitchell Owens and Matthew Zwissler

Howell Harris, a leading stove historian, calls this modest stove "one of the most important stoves, from one of the most significant early inventors and makers." It is an early example of Mott's anthracite stoves with a self-feeder. His first patent is dated December 30, 1833, and he went on to create one of the most successful foundries in the U.S. in a section of the Bronx now called Mott Haven. The open grate as opposed to andirons was necessary for burning coal. A lid covers the self-feeding magazine that gravity-fed the grate. The stove used small pieces of coal or clinkers, which saved on the cost of fuel. The design of the front copies that of a mantel with supporting Ionic columns and lintel. Its sides are decorated so that it can stand alone in a room. Because of its small size, such stoves were often used for bedrooms and at Hyde Hall, this stove is located in the Guest Suite Bedroom.

5. TEN-PLATE STOVE

CHARLES BROOKE JR. & CO ROCK FURNACE, Made by Charles Brooke, Jr., Hibernia, Chester County, PA c.1825 39" x 42" x 17 1/2"; Museum purchase

Ten- and six-plate stoves evolved from the Germanic stove traditions of Pennsylvania in the mid-1700s. Their names come from the number of plates held together by long-stay rods at the corners. Ten-plate stoves differed in that they included an oven composed of four plates. Both types of stoves came in varied sizes and were used for heating and cooking. They were exported from Pennsylvania to ports along the entire eastern seaboard. The Albany Troy stove industry began in the early 19th century by assembling Pennsylvania stove parts for local sale. George Clarke acquired a ten-plate stove for staff use in the Servants Hall, which is where the stove is located today.

6. PARLOR OR STEEPLE STOVE

Marked: E. INGALLS PATENT

Made by Elkanah Ingalls, Providence, RI c. 1835

49" x 23 1/2" x 22"; Museum purchase

The popular term "steeple" for stoves of this design derives from its distinctive, tapered form. It displays Grecian details that are less archeologically correct than the Townsend stove in the Entrance Hall. Ingalls took out patents in 1833 and 1835 showing a smaller stove with classical details, sliding doors, and a coal grate, but the form differs from the stove shown here. The "PATENT" name was intended to imply novelty and modernity but does not seem to refer to a known patent. The first stage of the steeple form on the stove gave off extra radiant heat while the top stage held water to counteract the stove's dry heat. The brass finials are a common decorative touch on better quality stoves. This steeple stove is located in the Guest Suite Sitting Room at Hyde Hall.

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If one thing has not changed over time, it is that few people enjoy doing laundry. And while common today, this sentiment could not have rung truer in the late 19th century when this Laundry Stove was in use at Hyde Hall. Titled the “Chinese Laundry Stove” by the 1888 Perfect Furnaces and Ranges catalog from Richardson and Boynton Co., this stove would have made servants' lives all the easier in the late 1880s and 1890s when ironing clothing, tablecloths, and more. The stove’s ergonomic form had ledges cast into its sides that held the back end of up to 10 irons with their flat parts resting against the side of the hot stove. This design was essential for ironing large batches of laundry as irons needed to be reheated frequently. Servants ironing the Clarke family’s wardrobe could have easily switched out a cooling iron for a hot one resting along the stove’s side. With 10 irons available, multiple servants could have been ironing at once to finish just in time for the evening meal.

The labor required of servants, even with the help of the laundry stove, cannot be overstated. Washing clothes in the late 1800s was a time-consuming and physically demanding process. According to household manuals, clothes first needed to be soaked overnight. The following day they were soaped, boiled, rinsed, wrung out, mangled, dried, starched, and ironed. The laundry stove boiled the water required for cleaning and naturally heated the irons for the last step of the process. Considering laundry is done today with the push of a button or turn of a dial, the laundry stove serves as a reminder that while doing laundry today may not necessarily be fun, it certainly could be much more challenging.