The collection of the Nizhny Lomov Museum of Local Lore includes a charcoal iron. It was manufactured in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Charcoal irons began to replace solid-cast clothes irons in the mid-18th century. Such new devices were more difficult to manufacture and thus more expensive. A charcoal iron had a hollow body with ventilation holes in the side walls, which allowed the coals to heat the soleplate better.
The coal for such irons was typically obtained from birch wood. It did not smoke and smoldered evenly, which was essential for ironing clothes and linen. Coals were placed inside the body with a double bottom for easy ash removal. After that, the lid was closed. However, a charcoal iron was not very convenient to use as it had to be continuously waved from side to side to increase air flow to the coals.
Sometimes, hot coals would spill out of the side holes, staining or burning through the clothes. Over time, the design of charcoal irons improved. A special pipe was attached to the body, along with flat grates. The pipe served to improve traction and protect hands from burns by removing excess heat. The grate was placed under the coals to prevent them from touching the soleplate and creating hot spots on its surface.
Charcoal irons were popular for more than a hundred years. However, solid-cast ones continued to be used despite their slow heating and quick cooling times. Even during the Soviet period, when space exploration was taking off, Russian women continued to use cast-iron appliances heated on stoves.
One of the reasons for the decline of charcoal irons was the shortage of coal, as well as the difficulties faced by the Soviet population during the Great Patriotic War. In case of need, clothes irons made of cast iron could be used. The first electric irons in the Soviet Union began to be produced in Leningrad in the late 1940s. By 1959, several models of electric irons were already manufactured at the Obukhov Plant, with soleplates made of steel, cast iron, and aluminum. Some models had removable cords.
