Prase — Coal-Heated Cast Iron Clothes Iron
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-PRASE-CCI-001
Prase | Coal-Heated Clothes Iron | Cincinnati, Ohio
Prase • Cincinnati, Hamilton County • Patented August 14, 1888
View showing the Prase coal-heated clothes iron with its hinged lid open, turned wood handle with ring terminal, and the serrated hinge edge where lid meets body. The raised-letter “CINCINNATI” marking is partially visible along the lid flange. The hollow cast iron body held hot coals or charcoal to maintain pressing heat.
In the decades before electricity transformed the American household, pressing clothes required fire. The charcoal box iron—a hollow cast iron vessel designed to hold hot coals inside its body—was the standard tool for the job. A hinged lid allowed the user to load fresh coals, ventilation holes at the rear kept the fuel burning, and a chimney flue at the front directed smoke away from the fabric being pressed. The flat sole plate retained and conducted the heat of the coals to the garment below. It was heavy, smoky, and slow—but it was better than the alternative, which was heating a solid iron slab directly on the stove and burning your hand on the bare metal handle.
This particular charcoal iron bears the name “PRASE” cast in raised letters along the lid flange, with “CINCINNATI” and “OHIO” cast on the opposite side. A third marking on the rear of the body near the ventilation openings reads “PAT’D AUG 14 1888,” providing a firm date anchor for the piece. The patent likely covers the adjustable ventilation damper mechanism—the rear vents that still open and close as designed, controlling airflow to the coals. The Prase name does not appear in any of the major cast iron collector databases or standard foundry references—making this piece a genuinely obscure artifact of Cincinnati’s late 19th-century manufacturing landscape. The name itself is German, which places it squarely within the context of Cincinnati’s massive German immigrant industrial community. By the mid-1800s, dozens of small German-owned foundries operated throughout the city, many of them producing domestic cast iron goods for local and regional markets.
For the SSC, this piece represents exactly the kind of discovery the collection exists to preserve: a marked cast iron product from an Ohio manufacturer so obscure that the iron itself may be the only surviving evidence that the company existed. No catalog. No newspaper advertisement. No city directory listing has been located. Just the name, cast in iron, on the lid flange of a clothes iron that has survived for more than a century.
Piece Details
Close-up of raised-letter marking cast along the lid flange: “CINCIN...” visible, identifying the place of manufacture as Cincinnati, Ohio. The lettering is cast directly into the iron, not stamped or applied.
Close-up of the maker’s mark: “PRASE” cast in raised letters on the lid flange. This is the sole identifying mark of the manufacturer, a German-named foundry or ironworks operating in Cincinnati during the 19th century.
Manufacturer
Prase (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Piece Type
Coal-heated charcoal box iron / clothes iron
Material
Cast iron body with wood handle
Construction
Hinged lid with serrated hinge edge; hollow body designed to hold hot coals or charcoal; wood handle with ring terminal; chimney flue at front point for draft and smoke venting; rear ventilation holes for airflow to coals
Patent Date
August 14, 1888 — “PAT’D AUG 14 1888” cast on rear of body near ventilation openings; patent likely covers the adjustable ventilation damper mechanism
Markings
“PRASE” cast in raised letters along the lid flange; “CINCINNATI” / “OHIO” cast in raised letters on opposite side of lid flange
Sole Plate
Flat, smooth cast iron pressing surface with ventilation slots at rear
Ventilation Dampers
Adjustable rear vents still functional — open and close as designed; damper mechanism is likely the patented feature
Handle
Original turned wood handle with ring at terminal end; mounted to lid via cast iron bracket
Date of Manufacture
c. 1888 or later (patent date August 14, 1888)
Place of Manufacture
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Condition
As-found original patina — retained without preservation treatment; all markings legible; wood handle intact with age-appropriate wear; hinged lid functional; body structurally sound with surface oxidation and patina consistent with 19th-century use and storage; no cracks or breaks
Preservation Note
Original patina retained; no Archival Black™ protocol applied — piece preserved in as-found condition to protect historical surface integrity
Acquisition Date
March 4, 2026
Acquisition Source
eBay — Seller: tsp8ntball5hnf
eBay Item Number
227238243616
Order Number
05-14325-47882
Purchase Price
$45.95 item + $15.95 shipping + $5.25 tax = $67.15 total
SSC Catalog Number
SSC-PRASE-CCI-001
Additional Views
Top-down interior view with lid removed, showing the hollow coal chamber. The flat pressing sole is visible through the opening. Hot coals or charcoal were loaded through the hinged lid and sat in this chamber, conducting heat downward through the sole plate to the fabric being pressed.
Rear view showing the adjustable ventilation dampers at the back of the iron. These vents still open and close as originally designed, controlling airflow to the coals inside the chamber. The patent date “PAT’D AUG 14 1888” is cast on the rear near these openings. The original turned wood handle bracket and hinge mechanism are also visible.
Historical Background
Cincinnati’s German Foundry Tradition
Cincinnati in the 19th century was one of the most heavily German cities in the United States. Immigration began in earnest in the 1830s, accelerated through the 1840s with political refugees from the 1848 revolutions, and peaked in the 1880s. By 1890, 57 percent of Cincinnati’s population of nearly 300,000 was either born in Germany or had German-born parents. The neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine—named for the Miami-Erie Canal that residents crossed to reach it, likened to crossing the Rhine—became the center of German cultural and commercial life. German was spoken in churches, schools, newspapers, and on the shop floor.
Many of these German immigrants were skilled tradesmen: metalworkers, machinists, mold makers, and foundrymen. They established small foundries and ironworks throughout the city’s industrial corridors, producing everything from stoves and kitchen hardware to tools, hardware, and domestic iron goods. The name “Prase” fits this pattern precisely—a German surname attached to what was almost certainly a small-scale foundry or ironworking shop producing goods for the local Cincinnati market. Many such operations left no surviving paper records; their products are the only evidence they existed.
The Coal-Heated Clothes Iron: Technology Before Electricity
Before electric irons became common in the early 20th century, American households relied on three main types of clothes irons. The simplest was the sad iron—a solid slab of cast iron heated directly on a stove, with “sad” deriving from an old English word meaning “solid” or “heavy.” The disadvantage was that the iron cooled quickly once removed from the stove, and the metal handle got painfully hot. The charcoal box iron—like this Prase example—improved on the design by placing the heat source inside the iron itself. Hot coals or charcoal loaded into the hollow body kept the sole plate hot far longer than a sad iron, and the wood handle stayed cool. Ventilation holes allowed air to reach the coals, and a chimney or flue at the front vented smoke away from the fabric.
The trade-off was weight and mess. A loaded charcoal iron was heavy, and despite the chimney design, soot and ash were constant companions in the laundry room. Households typically kept two irons going at once—one in use, one reheating—to maintain a steady workflow. By the late 19th century, gas-heated and eventually electric irons began to replace charcoal models, though coal-fired irons persisted in rural and working-class households well into the early 1900s.
A Brandewie Connection
The Prase iron carries a particular resonance for the SSC’s broader mission. Many of Cincinnati’s German immigrants came from the Osnabrück district of Hannover (now Niedersachsen)—the same region from which the Brandewie family emigrated in 1833, settling first in Minster, Ohio, in the Auglaize County German Catholic community. The Prase foundry likely drew from the same wave of Westphalian and Lower Saxon immigrants who built Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine industrial economy. This iron, produced by a German immigrant foundry in Ohio, connects to the same emigration patterns that brought German Catholic families to northwestern Ohio’s farm communities—two branches of the same diaspora, one urban and industrial, the other rural and agricultural, both leaving their mark in cast iron.
SSC Collection Context
The Prase coal-heated clothes iron expands the SSC’s documentation of Ohio cast iron in two important directions. First, it adds Cincinnati—Ohio’s largest 19th-century industrial city—to the collection’s geographic coverage with a manufacturer not found in any existing collector reference. Second, it pushes the collection’s scope further into the domestic hardware category, documenting cast iron’s role not just in the kitchen but in the laundry room.
The decision to preserve this piece in its original as-found patina—without applying the SSC’s standard Archival Black™ protocol—reflects the age and fragility of the surface. The oxidation, wear patterns, and accumulated patina on this iron are themselves historical evidence, recording more than a century of use, storage, and survival. Cleaning would remove that record. The iron tells its story better with its original skin intact.
The name is German. The city is Cincinnati. The iron endures. And the maker’s mark—cast in raised letters on the lid flange of a clothes iron that no collector database has ever cataloged—is now part of the permanent record.
Cincinnati German Foundry Heritage — Historical Context Timeline
1830s
German immigration to Cincinnati begins in earnest, driven by economic opportunity along the Ohio River. The neighborhood north of the Miami-Erie Canal becomes known as Over-the-Rhine as German immigrants settle densely in the area.
1840s–1850s
Cincinnati’s German population explodes. By 1850, 30 percent of the city’s 115,000 residents are of German stock. German craftsmen establish foundries, breweries, and manufacturing shops throughout the city. Cincinnati becomes the sixth-largest city in the United States.
1848
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states drive a wave of political refugees to Cincinnati, adding educated professionals and skilled tradesmen to the existing immigrant community.
1888
Prase receives a U.S. patent dated August 14, 1888, likely covering the adjustable ventilation damper mechanism on this charcoal iron design. The patent date confirms Prase was operating as a foundry or iron goods manufacturer in Cincinnati during this period. The exact founding date, full company name, and complete period of operation have not been documented in surviving records.
1860s–1880s
Cincinnati’s industrial manufacturing peaks. The city is a national center for meatpacking, soap production, brewing, and metalworking. Dozens of small German-owned foundries operate in and around Over-the-Rhine and the industrial corridors along the canal and river.
1890
Cincinnati’s population reaches nearly 300,000, with 57 percent either born in Germany or having German parents. By this time, electric and gas-heated irons are beginning to replace coal and charcoal irons in American households.
2026
Steve’s Seasoned Classics acquires this Prase coal-heated clothes iron from eBay seller tsp8ntball5hnf. The piece is documented as SSC-PRASE-CCI-001.
Why This Piece Matters
A Prase coal-heated clothes iron is not a famous piece of cast iron. It is not a Griswold skillet or a Wagner waffle iron. No collector guide includes it. No foundry database lists it. No auction house has cataloged a comparable example. And that is precisely why it matters.
This iron documents a Cincinnati manufacturer that would otherwise be completely invisible to the historical record. The Prase name survives only because someone cast it into iron—and because iron lasts. A paper record can be lost in a fire, a bankruptcy, a house clearance. But a name cast in raised letters on a lid flange endures as long as the metal holds together. For more than a century, this iron has carried the Prase name through time, waiting for someone to pick it up and read it.
For the SSC, this is the mission in its purest form: find the marked iron, research the maker, document the story, and preserve it for the record. The Prase iron is now documented. The maker is now on the map. And the story—of German immigrants, Cincinnati foundries, charcoal-fired laundry rooms, and a name cast in iron that outlived every other trace of the company that made it—is now part of the permanent collection.
Sources & Further Reading
FamilySearch — Germans in Hamilton County, Ohio (familysearch.org): comprehensive overview of German immigration patterns to Cincinnati, including source regions (Osnabrück, Oldenburg, Westphalia), settlement areas, and population statistics.
Piqua Public Library / Cincinnati: A City of Immigrants (cincinnati-cityofimmigrants.com): German immigrant settlement patterns, Over-the-Rhine history, and Cincinnati’s industrial development.
Old and Interesting — History of Ironing and Irons (oldandinteresting.com): comprehensive reference on the evolution of clothes irons from sad irons through charcoal box irons to electric models.
Wikipedia — Clothes Iron (en.wikipedia.org): overview of charcoal iron, box iron, and sad iron types and their historical development.
Wagner and Griswold Society — Foundry Database (wag-society.org): master listing of North American cast iron manufacturers; Prase not listed, confirming the maker’s obscurity.
eBay listing and invoice documentation — Item 227238243616, Order 05-14325-47882.
About Steve’s Seasoned Classics
Steve’s Seasoned Classics is an online museum dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of American cast iron, with a focus on Ohio foundry pieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The SSC collection features over 130 pieces with detailed provenance, historical research, and photography for each item.
