The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-21
TIE STOVES HISTORY.
SOMETHING AeOUT THE WONDER
Full IMPROVEMENTS MADE.
The Stove Practically Unknown In This
Country Fifty Years Ago-LittleGeIds
Tavoritc styles Of Today.

Crude Invention avy's Discovery--The
! Favortc styles Of Today.
. What nowadays appears as a prime ueces-
sity Of life was practically unknown IN this
: country fifty years ago. A good many
, people are st.ll alive who will remember the
first introduction Of the stove to an American
audience. 1t is true there were stoves in
, this country even i'm ante revolutionary
times but they were imported from Europe;
, they we're clumsy and unsatisfactory, ac-
cording to our notions Of today. and they
were few and far between. Just about fifty
years ago stoves-cooking and heating stoves
first began 10 BE- generally used That was
when Americans began TO make stoves for
the home market. And how modest were
these beginningsl The cooking stove first in
vogue was sort Of pot, covered, and hot
ashes were used 10 fill the pan, and thus the
baking and the roasting was done. The
dutch ovens of that time were certainly
simple enough Then came the step stoves"
having two steps On them, very free and
easy AFFAIR."
The first parlor stoves too, came into use
about fifty years ago The first and largest
sale made OF these were so called surface burn
ers. They continued to be popular for about
a score Of years, and were then thought the
acme Of perfection in stove construction
Then they began TO be displaced by the self
feeding burners, first introduced thirty years
ago. Dennis Littlefield in Albany " Y,
took the initiative in this respect He called
| them railroad heaters aud they were, for
spell, mainly used in railroad depots and on
trains Littleheld got big reputation on
the strength of this stove and made what
was even Of NICE importance TO him, big
Pile Of money by their manufacture II was
thought at that time and for years after,
that this stove (Which was n rather clumsy
affair at best was his own invention. and he
got much credit for IT, But one day young
man in Albany, employed in a rival estab-
lishment, when searching through the libra
ries, came across a foreign book in which
were drawings of c'stOve similar i'm cOnstruc-
ton only more perfect aud handsome than
Littleields. He told his employers about il, |
and they quickly and without letting any /
body become the wiser, set about manufac- /
turing better and more perfect stoves than |
Littleiields. They were sued aud IN court |
they told of their discovery They went ON |
making their stoves then without let on
hindrancc. The firm made a big fortune
From that time on one small Improvement
after another has been made 10 stove build
ing but in the main the stove OF today is just
what 1t was thirty years ago
The genesis OF the modern stove goes back
to the days OF Sir Humphrey Davy Coal
was something new and untrcd then. Ex-
plosons with deadly results in the collierios
were things Of daily occurrence. Only soft
coal was known as fuel. and several biz COM
pamies had haukrupted themselves IN the
vain endeavor to introduce hard coal as fuel
Then 10 was that the English parliament
made a liberal appropriation for the
purpose Of having Sir Humphrey Davy,
the eminent chemist and inventor, ascertain !
the exact properties of coal His safety {
lamp, 10 be- used i'm mines for tie prevention
Of explosions, was one result aud the parent !
OF tire stove Of today was another
Tic gas stove is as yet IN lbs infancy. The
theory Of scientific men is, az course, that
fuel reduced O. gas and then used tor heat
Ing purposes is really the most economical :
way of utilizing fuel. But, practically, this
theory has not yet been demonstrated. The
gas companies make the gas and charge
much more for Do than 10 is really worth.
Again, many 0f the gas heaters are bad m a
sanitary sense, as they constantly rob tho
mir in the room Of its oxygen most iulis-
Dcnsable clement, without replacing 10 in
any way Thus practically, the gas stove Is
itL a thing of .he future.
But what variety d coal stoves there
lrel Tho ware rooms on Lake street which
he reporter visited contained alone about 800
&
which were not there represented Begin /
aug with the best and most high priced. the !,
clf feeders, they are now made So as o. suit a
IA tastes and nearly oil pocket books. When 4
irst introduced, about thirty years ago, =
hoy were round in shape, Then the bacl, 4
art Of the stove Logan 20 swell out, 50 rs to
lut ascending and Describing Aues in and ,
% ht them with double lotions III this
way the radiating surface for the heat was
and the heating capacity Of the
tovc heightened Some five or TX years
lgo the square stoves Of the same pattern
we're introduced They first came cut m
New England. They were square ia shape
md had a square chamber. This style seems
o have originated 50 as TO correspond With
he change IN fashion in furniture. This
lass of stove had, however but a short run.
d was followed by a modification in style, a
eayiiig the stJyc itself still square or nearly Q
%, but making the fire chamber again oval q
n round.
Another kind OF stove is the Surface q
,urner" 1t Is not self feeding. but base !,
ieating and surface burning stove In New "a
England, where people practice economy
more scientifically aud consistently than We u
leople of the west. this stove Is considered n
he most economical-i C., giving the great
st heat for the amount OF fuel consumed
This style Of stove Is usually made with a
asst iron base, square, with rounded corners.
louble bottom, the upper part OF sheet iron,
over part lined with cylinder brick, making d,
he fire Part very strong aud durable, and
giving much radiating surface.
a cheaper kind Of stove is made, known to
nc trade as the cylinder stove The bottom -
mi ash pot OF this stove are made Of cast
ron, while the body Of the stove is formed Of r
beet iron in acylindrical shape The bottom q
s used for @ fire chamber and is brick lined
Tbs stove Is cheaper, because there is no
living ilue and no double bottOm-simply n c
iIrect draught This stove though cheaper \
n cost, is not 50 economical it Is however. ,