HEATING AND LIGHTING UTENSILS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM 101 



down in Mrs. E. J. Stone's family, Washin^^ton, I). C, and dates 

 about 1TG8. It Avas brought from P^ngland by Robert King, sr. It 

 consists of a trivet with cabriolet legs and spade feet surmounted 

 by a ring on which a drip pan could be set. At one side of the 

 ring plate is a pierced tab in whicli a rod held by a spring is set 

 and is thus capable of being raised and lowered. At the top is a 

 spring slide in Avhich the spit works. The si)it has four forks in 

 a row and one ]">laced above, perhaps to hold basting material. (Pi. 

 89, tig. 3; Cat. No. 130492, England, Mrs. E. J. Stone; height to 

 ring, 9.8 inches (25 cm.).) From Yorkshire, England, comes a 

 tall roaster consisting of an iron grid of five slats having nine forks, 

 and sliding on an upright rod with three ball-toed feet. The upper 

 iron through which the upright rod passes is curbed back and has 

 a hole at the end, apparently for hanging the spit on a hook. (PI. 

 88, fig. 1; Cat. No. 150885, English, Edward Lovett; 30.8 inches 

 (80 cm.) high.) Another specimen coming from Virginia and be- 

 lieved to date to colonial times is of different type. It is purely of 

 wrought iron. The base is a long, narrow strip mounted on four 

 feet formed by bending a strip of iron in U-shape and riveting to 

 the base near the ends. On the base are mounted two pairs of 

 twisted iron bows set opposite. Two twisted spikes with down- 

 curving ornaments are set under the bows. The handle is hinged 

 to an upright U-shape section and terminates in a loop. (PL 89, 

 iig. 2; Cat. No. 233195, Virginia, Walter Hough; 121/, inches (31 

 cm.) long, 5l^ inches (14 cm.) high. 



This useful utensil from the period of the great fireplace served 

 as a skeleton stove. It was set over coals raked from the fire or 

 hooked on the crane above the fire, the bent-down bars in the front 

 of the trivet giving that impression. The National Museum has a 

 trivet given by Lucy H. Baird. It is of Pennsylvania origin and 

 came down in the family of Prof. Spencer F. Baird, second Secre- 

 tary of the Smithsonian, whether on the Baird or Biddle side is not 

 known. It is a sturdy trivet with spade feet, a rack for a pan, and 

 a finely perforated brass grid with turned applewood handle pol- 

 ished like amber at the top. (PI. 90, fig. 1 ; Cat. No. 284327, Penn- 

 sylvania, Lucy H. Baird; 13 inches (33 cm.) high.) A folding trivet 

 of uncertain origin has a beautifully pierced iron rim having four 

 small bosses punched up to accommodate the bottom of the vessel. 

 The handle folds down on itself and has a latch to brace it. The 

 bottom of the pivoted handle forms one of the three feet and the top 

 has a hook for hanging a spoon or fork, and a yoke across for resting 

 the handle of a pipkin or such vessel. This folding device w^as prob- 

 ably for use in the field and may be in a way the ancestor of the 



