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possessed certain characteristics of each. The frame, which 
was arranged to be used in a fireplace that had been either 
filled in with brick or finished with a fire-board, was very 
similar in appearance to the upper part of the Franklin 
stove, but differed from it in that it rested directly upon the 
fireplace-hearth instead of being raised from the floor on 
legs and having a hearth of its own. Wood was the fuel 
burned in these fire-frames, and the open fireplace effect was 
still further enhanced by the andirons and crane which were 
often to be found as accessories. Even after stoves came 
into general use fire-frames did not disappear entirely, but 
were sometimes left in place while a stove was set up in front 
of them with its funnel passing through the frame into the 
chimney. 
Dating as far back as the earliest fireplaces are found 
fire-sets, as they were sometimes called, comprising the 
hearth accessories necessary for an open fire. The oldest 
of these sets, which were in use long before coal was burned 
as fuel, consisted usually of a pair of andirons, a long- 
handled fire shovel and a pair of tongs. In some cases 
more than one set of andirons was included, for in the 
great cavernous fireplaces of the colonists’ log-cabins the 
high supports used for the heavy fore-stick and logs were 
not suitable for the smaller wood and creepers had to be set 
between the large andirons to hold the short sticks in place. 
Bellows were often found beside the fireplace in those times, 
but the poker was rarely if ever included in fire-sets pre- 
vious to the introduction of coal as a fuel. 
In material and design these fire-sets, particularly the 
andirons, differed widely. Iron, steel, copper and brass 
were the metals most commonly used for their construction, 
although in other countries even silver was occasionally 
made into fire-irons. As for design, they ranged from the 
very simplest and most unpretentious styles up through the 
quaint dogs’ heads to the grotesque figures and elaborately 
wrought pieces to be found among good collections of 
antique hearth accessories. 
Andirons for kitchen use were, as a rule, very plain and 
substantial. Sometimes they were merely straight pieces 
supported by short legs and having uprights of either plain 
or twisted metal, topped by small knobs of some sort. They 
were probably most commonly made of iron, and not a few 
were rudely hammered and shaped on the pioneer black- 
smith’s anvil. It is consequently little to be wondered at 
that many of the andirons once used in Colonial kitchens 
give one the impression of having been designed for strength 
and utility rather than for ornamental purposes. 
The better class of andirons in use during the seventeenth 
and early part of the eighteenth centuries were, for the 
most part, of graceful, but, at the same time, simple and 
dignified designs. ‘The finest ones were of brass, which was 
kept brightly polished by the energetic Colonial housekeeper. 
Short knobs or uprights were often placed a few inches 
back of the main uprights and served the double purpose 
of holding the fore-stick in place and of protecting the 
shining brass. Occasionally, andirons were made in rights 
and lefts, with the shanks curving out from the short knobs 
where they joined the straight horizontal supports. 
Among other popular andiron designs of this period were 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
December, 1909 
the twisted flame, the urn topped, the queer iron and brass 
dogs with claw feet, the Colonial baluster and the steeple- 
topped. Of these, the steeple-topped andirons were, per- 
haps, the rarest, while the Colonial baluster pattern with 
ball tops was, without doubt, the most popular and com- 
monly used. 
A good example of the style of andirons which came 
into favor during the latter half of the eighteenth century 
is found in the “Hessian” design. They take their name 
from the fact that the upright of each iron is cast in the 
form of a Hessian soldier posed as if in the act of march- 
ing. Since this particular pattern first made its appear- 
ance immediately after the close of the American Revo- 
lution, it is not difficult to comprehend its significance, for 
it is a well-known fact that the patriotic colonists heartily 
hated the hired allies who had fought against them in the 
employ of King George of England. This humbling of the 
Hessian to service among the flames and ashes, although 
only in efigy, seemed to afford the Americans a great deal 
of satisfaction, if the great popularity of these andirons 
stood for anything. 
The building of open fireplaces, and, as a natural result, 
the demand for andirons and other accessories, grew con- 
stantly less, however, as the nineteenth century offered im- 
provements in the form of coal and ugly, unsociable stoves. 
In time, the furnace was invented, and still more recently, 
the modern adaptation of gas and electricity. 
With so great a number of superior methods at the pub- 
lic’s demand it looked as if the old-fashioned open fire- 
place were doomed to everlasting oblivion, until some pro- 
gressive person effected a compromise between the modern 
and ancient styles by inventing gas-logs to burn in a small, 
new-fashioned fireplace. This was the beginning of the 
fireplace’s reincarnation. 
Gradually other fireplaces came into existence, and in 
the course of a few years many homes were to be found 
which boasted of neat little open fireplaces with hearths 
and facings of delicately colored tiles, ornate firebacks and 
fittings and elaborately decorated mantels. ‘These fireplaces 
were arranged sometimes for burning wood and sometimes 
for coal, but it happened more frequently that they were 
considered too fine for use and so were never desecrated by 
ashes or cinders. 
Now, however, the tide of fashion has turned in favor 
of a fireplace built on good old-fashioned lines, a fireplace 
that is cheery and homelike and whose greatest charm lies 
in its fire of blazing logs. As for the materials of which 
they are built, some of the most attractive are of cement 
with designs or mottoes laid in mosaics, of substantial red 
brick, and of rough field-stone. Tiles, too, are still em- 
ployed for this purpose, but they are no longer of a variety 
too dainty to be used, for the modern fireplace, like the 
ancient, is designed for practical use and not merely as an 
ornament. Best of all, the constantly increasing number 
of these commonsense fireplaces, constructed in the generous 
proportions of their early predecessors, seems to indicate 
plainly that the day of the open fire has again come, and 
that it has come, let us hope, to stay. We may be assured, if 
it does, of better health and comfort. 
