Feeling a little rumpled this summer? Then press forward and check out Hartzell's Auction Gallery's The William Carson Iron Collection sale, to be held on July 29th at the company's gallery in Bangor, PA. This sale features pressing irons, trivets, mangling boards, hand-carved seamers, and smoothing implements, as well as advertising items and store displays pertaining to irons or laundry. We spoke to John R. Hartzell of Hartzell's Auction Gallery to learn more about these functional and decorative household tools. Small German box iron. Image from Hartzell's Auction Gallery. Auction Daily: Please give us a brief overview of your July 29th sale featuring the William Carson iron collection. John R. Hartzell: Our sale on July 29, 2021, is the collection of William “Buck” Carson. Though not the largest, it is the finest American iron collection and possibly the best in the world. The sale also offers his collection of mangling boards, which includes the finest examples from across Europe. The irons range from as early as the 16th century with Japanese and Chinese smoothing stones through the 20th century with souvenir irons from the annual PITCA (Pressing Iron and Trivet Collectors of America) conventions. Auction Daily: Who is William Carson, and why are these items going up for sale now? Do you know why he collected these antique household items - what about them called to him? John R. Hartzell: Mr. Carson is a retired scientist and businessman. He now resides in New Jersey. His items are going up for sale due to personal reasons, and he has decided it is time for others to enjoy his fine collection. He started collecting irons in 1985 when he bought his first irons and used them as doorstops and bookends. And then every six weeks from then on, his son would show up with a box of irons that had been cleaned and polished or in their original state. His collection began to grow to what it is now - just over 6,000 irons and mangling boards. He was drawn to them by the detail of the raw metal, how they ranged…
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