Different Types of Iron Box (Detail Inside)

Removing wrinkles and creases from clothes would have been a complex task if iron boxes were not available to humans.

However, the irons that are seen today are modern versions, and the history of ironing started long back in the BC era.

Hence, this article highlights the evolution of iron boxes.

Ironing using Stone

Removing wrinkles from clothes was first done by the Chinese in the first century BC.

Chinese people used to wear silk clothes that would get easily wrinkled and have creases.

To counter this, affluent families started pouring boiling water into metal pans and used that pan to press the clothes.

Later, Scandinavian Vikings used irons made of glass in the 10th century.

These irons had a central handle and a mushroom-shaped smoother.

This was termed as 'Somglatter', meaning 'linen smoother'.

Hand Mangle Iron

The Hand Mangle Iron was used by The Romans Empires.

This iron consisted of a mallet or a flat metal paddle, and people removed the wrinkles from the clothes through hard beating.

However, the hand mangle iron was mostly afforded by high-class people since they needed a servant to operate this thing. Another tool that Romans used was a prelum.

This was made out of two flat pieces of wood that were attached with screws.

Wrinkle clothes were placed within these boards, and then it was fastened with the screws.

Sad Iron

The modern appearance of regular irons came in the late middle ages when blacksmiths started forging flat irons with metal handles.

These irons were heated by placing them on top of a stove or fire, and then the ironing was done. These irons were termed as smoothening irons or sad irons.

Box Iron

The sad irons were improvised in the 15th century. The irons were now made like a hollow metal container with holes, a handle and a flat base.

However, the need for heating the iron frequently was gone since heating items were placed inside that metal container.

This type of iron became a part of daily household chores and was called a charcoal box, log iron or box iron.

Gas Iron

After box iron, the gas iron came into use in American households with easy availability of gas.

The first gas iron got patented in 1874. The American houses had different pipelines for gas where these irons were attached.

There was a burner with gas irons that was lit to heat the irons.

However, gas leakage presented a threat, although the gas irons were lighter than the previous versions.

Electric Iron

After electricity became readily available, the electric iron replaced the gas iron in American houses.

The first patent was recorded in 1882, in which the model contained a built-in coil with a detachable wire.

However, there were long heating times that got sorted in the early 20th century through electric cord iron boxes.

By 1920, the thermostat got attached with the irons to allow heat control.

Steam Iron

The first steam iron was invented during the 20th century. Earlier, people used to sprinkle water on clothes for easy ironing.

However, the introduction of steam made smoothening of dry clothes easy.

It became a household item by the 1940s and is still in use.

Therefore, this is the detailed timeline for the evolution of iron boxes.