Designed by Ezra Ripley; manufactured by Johnson, Greer, and Cox, Troy, NY
Date:
c. 1844
Maker:
Designed by Ezra Ripley; manufactured by Johnson, Greer, and Cox, Troy, NY
Dimensions:
62 H x 34 W x 22 D
Materials:
Cast iron
Marks:
Cast on draft plate cover: patented Sept. 1844 / Johnson Greer & Cox Troy / No4
Accession Number:
1980.36
Comments:
During the nineteenth century, Albany and Troy manufacturers were among the largest producers of cast-iron stoves in the world. The Hudson River allowed Troy and Albany to bring raw materials to the foundries and finished stoves to worldwide markets. Some stoves, it was reported in 1860, were carried by llamas across the Andes, by "camels to the shores of the Black Sea and [by] ships to Turkey, Japan, China, and Australia." Cast-iron stovemaking reached its highest level of artistic achievement and technological advances between 1840 and 1870. Stove designers borrowed from architectural and cabinetmakers's design books, bringing Greek, Roman, Gothic, Egyptian, and Rococo revival motifs, along with patriotic symbols and lavish floral designs, in stoves. The technical design of this column parlor stove included a small rectangular firebox to which were connected four vertical flues (or columns). All were connected at the top by a horizontal pipe or second chamber. The increased surface area and greater air circulation of this design enhanced the amount of radiated heat.
