Good Time Stove Company Preserving the Lost Stove Art - Mother Earth News

LOST STOVE ART
By Alfred Meyer Photography
By Walter Wick

IF THE FACADE OF THE GOOD TIME Stove Company in Goshen, Massachusetts, resembles a Wild West s saloon, the inside and back yard remain pure Yankee-reflecting, as they do, compulsive smithery, unbridled ingenuity, an apparent grudge against the cold, and the native ~impulse to save everything. The yard is the resting place, probably not final, of defunct stoves, broken grates, rusted hinges and an old lawn mower. The workshop at the rear of the building is crammed with acetylene tanks, casting molds, grinders, sandblasting nozzles, virgin firebrick liners, two stripped cast-iron ranges awaiting rejuvenation, and exactly one black smith, a masked man at the moment welding a seam on a stove jacket. Off to the side, as well as upstairs, shelves sag with spare parts-legs, doors, vents, grillwork-most of them salvaged from stoves beyond repair, some of them fresh recasts, some collected from the leftover inventories of late, great American stove manufacturers.

However, as is the case in most New England homes, it is the front parlor that is the show room rather than the working center. It is also here, in the front, that 40-year-old proprietor Richard Richardson (a.k.a. Stove Black) displays his completely restored antique wood- and coal-burning stove~ and ranges. To browse among them is to attend a rally of classic engines of warmth, all poised for fuel, ignition and radiance. Some are relatively recent, like the sleek, baked/-enamel 1928 Kalamazoo cooking range destined for shipment to Mexico, where it will serve as a prop for a Hollywood film. Others, like the’ black Glendale brooding in. the corner, represent the apex of cast-iron stove manufacture in America, a period culminating shortly after the turn of the century. Still others qualify as truly venerable, like the pair of late 18th-century Franklins or, the oldest of all, the 1790 Ten Plate that stands against the rear wall.

“Technically, they’re just heating and cooking appliances,” says Richardson. “And those you see here are now in tiptop shape, ready to be fired-to bake bread, heat rooms, put some soul in our houses again. But I ask you, look closely. Everyone is also a time traveler, an artifact that tells you not only something of the history of metallurgy and of the technology of combustion, but also a bit about how we once lived and how households worked. Think, for example, of what it meant for a farm family to acquire a second, slightly smaller range for what used to be known as the summer kitchen, often located on the back porch. It made cooking and life itself, I would venture, at least for the cook-far more bearable during the hot days of July and August.

“But there’s another aspect,” Richardson continues, excitement beginning to carry him. “Every stove is a work of functional art as well. A lost art, perhaps, but an art nonetheless. Marvels of engineering and design, in my opinion. In fact, ‘Lost Stove Art’ is how the Connecticut Valley Historical Society billed an exhibition of several of my stoves not long ago. I think they got the name right.”

Lofty sentiments, perhaps, for a man who calls himself Stove Black, yet judging from the appearance of his floor models he is right. These were not mere instruments of utility, meant to labor out of sight in the basement. Rather they were showpieces, as ornate and busy in some cases as, say, Victorian sofas, or as simple and spare in others as, say, Shaker chairs. Whether through the curlicues in. nickel trim, the shapes of brass finials or the figures and scenes molded from the stove iron itself, the old builders clearly catered to the tastes of their day.

“Well, they had to if they wanted to sell stoves,” Richardson points out. “That’s what the stove business was all about, obviously, and still is, as far as I’m concerned. This is how I make a living, you know. Even so, 1 can’t stop admiring the skill, thought and creativity that went into making these stoves. 1 mean, they not only worked splendidly, they were beautiful, too. Still are, those that are left.”

It was a pair of such beauties that launched Richardson on his restoration career 15 years ago. He discovered the twins by accident, identical Stewart Rounds rusting away in the cellar of a Berkshires hotel. “I got them for little more than moving them out of there,” he recalls. “They were the tall commercial stoves typically used in hotels, churches, depots, even steamboats. 1 went to work right away, naively with emery paper and a steel brush. By now my methods are considerably more sophisticated, I promise you.”

So it would seem, for in the intervening years Richardson has had to acquire a variety of skills, not only in metal- and iron working, but in industrial research and marketing as well.

“First 1 apprenticed myself to a local blacksmith, then to another one up the way. 1 learned to forge, shape and weld. Most important, 1 learned metal fabrication and how to work with cast iron, a material almost obsolete now, but which requires great finesse in technique. Iron is the name of the stove game, by and large. After that come the decorative elements: nickels, brasses, micas and so forth. The point is, faced with a cracked molding, a broken leg or a missing vent door, I’ve often had to make the replacement from scratch.”

He’s also had to plunge into some extraordinary research, tracking down long-out-of date sales manuals, catalogues and manufacturing specifications for various makes of stoves. Through these, as well as through the Limited number of available semi scholarly books devoted to the 19th-century stove industry, Richardson has turned himself into a learned historian of the art and science of heating.

Beyond bringing a stove back to near perfect condition, however, the most rewarding part of his business, he admits, is fieldwork, that is, locating old stoves that he can buy and restore.

“At this point,” he says, “I’m an expert at getting wind of an available stove, particularly here in New England, the heart of stove country. I’m also good at helping people scrounge through attics, cellars, garages and barns where a jewel just might be moldering away underneath a tarp in some nook or cranny.”

Once a restorable stove or range is found, not only its pedigree but also its individual history is discussed, followed by a struck bargain. Most of the time. “The finest old Garland 1 ever saw 1 couldn’t buy,” he recalls ruefully.

“The farmer in whose barn 1 found it refused to sell. Not because of my offer, which was generous, but because his cat preferred to have her kittens in its oven. He didn’t want to disturb her routine. Still doesn’t, damn it all. What a stove.”

At this stage, Richardson enjoys a national clientele, displaying his stoves not only on the show-room floor in Goshen but, more recently, on videodisc. Moreover, his very success has trained him in the most fundamental skill of all when it comes to commerce in old stoves: lifting very, very heavy things.

19th Century Stove Manufacturing - Favorite Stove Company

	The following is a chapter from the Favorite Stoves and Ranges catalog circa 1905. This catalog isn’t your typical catalog. It is a 310 page, hard cover book.

Three Sisters Garden - Landscape Art by Richard M. Richardson

The Three Sisters Garden is an ongoing project at the home of Richard Richardson.The Garden is a memorial and a place for relaxation and socialization. Richard collaborates with several artists and craftsmen to continually develop the land to match his whimsical, freeform, fun loving imagination.

The project was initially started as a warehouse garden for abundance from Tammy Lee Graves’s gardens. The rest of the gardens were inspired by Richard’s late brother Chuck and his love for gardens. Each year, for many years, friends and families were invited to a tribute party given in memory of Chuck to plant a new garden with plants from their own. It has been a healing event.

The garden flourished each year and Richard and Tammy work as a team but with different styles to add new gardens and maintain existing ones. The gardens have come in their maturity to mold the yard and walks and are peaceful, inspiring and healing.

Come Visit Our Web Site: www.threesistergarden.com

CAST WITH STYLE - A Display of 19th Century Cast-Iron Stoves from Albany and Troy

CAST WITH STYLE
19th Century Cast-Iron Stoves from Albany and Troy
January 26 - May 25, 2008

Click Here to Visit Albany Institue of History & Art

The Albany Institute is nationally known for its excellent collection of 19th century cast-iron stoves. This exhibition includes over 35 stoves cast-iron stoves made in Albany, Troy and Schenectady, including ten stoves recently donated by avid collector and renowned architect John I Mesick. The exhibition is enhanced by a seslection of prints, drawings, photographs, stove catalogues, and advertising materials. During the nineteenth century Albany and Troy, New York manufacturers were considered to be among the largest producers of cast-iron stoves in the world. Stoves made in these two upstate New York cities were renowned for their fine-quality castings and innovations in technology and design. The strategic location of Albany and Troy, located nine miles apart on opposite banks of the Hudson River afforded easy and inexpensive transportation of raw materials to the foundries, and finished stoves to worldwide markets.

Cast-iron stove making reached its highest artistic advent of the cupola furnace permitted more elaborate designs and finer-quality castings. Stove designers borrowed freely from architectural and cabinet-makers design books, a process that resulted in the use of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Rococo revival motifs; patriotic symbols, and Franklin, box, dumb, base-burner, parlor, cook stoves and ranges and parlor cook stoves. However, the stoves that attracted the most attention and helped to secure the reputation of stoves produced during the 1830’s and 1840’s. These stoves were a focal point for a Victorian parlor because the overall designs incorporated current tastes in architecture, furniture and other decorative arts.

A facsimile edition of the 1984 exhibition catalogue will be available in limited numbers in the Museum Shop.

Above: George Washington Dumb Stove, Alonzo Blanchard, 1843, Albany, NY, Cast Iron; ht. 48 3/4″; w.15 d.9, AIHA Purchase: Rockwell Fund, 1992.7	Above: Dumb Stove Representing a Full-length Classical Female Figure, Alonzo Blanchard, 1843, Albany, NY, Cast Iron; ht. 48 3/4″; w. 14 d.9, AIHA Purchase:, Rockwell Fund, 1992.8

© Albany Institute of History & Art 125 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12210 Tel: 518.463.4478 E-mail: information@albanyinstitute.org
Click Here to Visit Albany Institue of History & Art

Kitchen Safety Critical - Grease Fire Safety Video Available

This is a very brief cautionary message. We all should know this, but sometimes in an emergency we react without thinking. Reading this and viewing the video will cast a permanent impression.

It’s always good to be reminded what to do in case you have a grease fire in the kitchen. This 33 sceond video provides easy to follow instruction.

CLICK TO TO WATCH VIDEO

Historic Northampton - A Wealth of Information, Fun to Visit!

In researching our famed “Tin Man of Goshen“, I had the opportunity to do some research at Historic Northampton. Seeking articles, photos and documentation about his early origins! I found the articles I was looking for and discovered a tremendous resource for research and history that was right under my nose.

I found the volunteers and staff to be helpful and friendly! The archives were organized it is clear that much time and energy has been dedicated to their preservation and organization. Materials were well documented and easily accessible. The computer software PastPerfect has been intergrated to Historic Northampton to help manage the archives. This software has also allowed Historic Northampton make collections available online for research and enjoyment. Click here for Online Research.

Over the last century, Historic Northampton has gathered a collection of approximately 50,000 objects. These objects include photographs and daguerreotypes, documents and manuscripts from the 17th to the 20th centuries, fine art, furniture, ceramics, glass, metals, toys, tools and implements, and an important collection of textiles and costumes. Together the collections represent the history of Northampton, and to some extent, the Connecticut River Valley, from the time of its earliest inhabitants, the Native Americans, to the present day.

At the time of my visit, the museum included a terrific Calvin Collidge exhibit and s collection of antique silk dresses from the turn-of-the-century. Current exhibits include A Place Called Paradise: The Making of Northampton, Massachusetts and A Well Regulated Militia: Northampton’s Citizen-Soldiers, 1676-1898.

A walking tour of the campus is wonderful. Historic Northampton constitutes a campus of three contiguous historic houses, all on their original sites. The grounds themselves are part of an original Northampton homelot, laid out in 1654

The Damon House (1813), built by architect, Isaac Damon, contains Historic Northampton’s administrative offices. A modern structure, added in 1987, houses the museum, gift shop and exhibition area. It features changing exhibits and a permanent installation, A Place Called Paradise: The Making of Northampton, Massachusetts, chronicling Northampton history.

Next Door, the Parsons House (1730) affords an overview of Colonial domestic architecture with its interior walls exposed to reveal evolving structural and decorative changes over more than two and a half centuries.

The Shepherd House (1796) is the headquarters of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

If you cannot make a trip to visit the lovely city of Northampton, Massachusetts and its awesome Historic Northampton, their web site includes Virtual Exhibits, Virtual Tours, reference shelf and tons of other online resources that you will enjoy!

The Great American Bars and Saloons of the Old West - Cylinder stoves & Potbelly Stoves

Thumbing through the shelves at Barnes & Noble, we were rewarded with a great book find, a book entitled The Great American Bars and Saloons by Kathy Weiser (Chartwell Books Inc., 2006.). This is a coffee-table book with kick. Hardcover, 2006, 224 Pages.

Kathy Weiser presents the story of the old West, bars and saloons; a fascinating story told in fabulous contemporary photos from the 1850 to the 1930s. This book is rich with photographs coupled with captions and narratives that provide historical background and tell textured stories about the people, the life style, architecture, politics and so much more. Weiser preserves through word and picture a beloved piece of America’s history.

We at the Good Time Stove Company especially enjoyed this book because it included more than a dozen pictures including the Antique Stove. These photos document the use of cylinder stoves and potbelly stoves in the bars, saloons and the Old West from 1850-1930.

On page 23, you will find a classic potbelly stove in McSorley’s Old Ale House in East 7^th Street NYC, established in 1854 and laying claim to being the oldest tavern in the city.

On page 138 is a Stewart cylinder stove heating the Cosmopolitan Saloon in Telluride, Colorado. The picture looks like it came right out of an Old West film. It is complete with roulette/faro table, vested bartender and even Marshall Kenneth Maclean at the end of the long polished bar.

These wonderful wood and coal Potbelly and Cylinder stoves were the workhorses providing for the heating needs of the Old West from 1850-1930. Most thoughts of the West are associated with cowboys and outlaws and the bars and saloons in which they drank, gambled, danced and fought.

Kathy Weiser’s first venture into the publishing world takes you into the many watering holes of America’s past, particularly the numerous saloons that sprouted up during our nation’s Wild West days. This great photographic review displays hundreds of vintage photographs from California to Arizona, the mining camps of Colorado, all the way to New York and its turbulent days of Prohibition.

Online information and ordering available at http://www.legendsofamerica.com/book-descriptions/greatamericanbarssaloons.html
Kathy Weiser owns and edits http://www.legendsofamerica.com/. This is a travel site for the nostalgic and historic minded. When you travel, do you often wonder what happened at “this place” in the past? Who lived here? What were they like? How did they live their daily lives? If that’s the case for you, at Legends of America, you will find content-rich travel destinations of the American West, including Route 66, ghost towns, outlaws, treasure tales, and even a few ghosts that we bump into along the way.Filled with both vintage and current photographs, Legends of America focuses on small out of the way places and hidden attractions that appeal to the nostalgic and historic minded, giving you more than just a paragraph, we will take you there!ORDER THIS BOOK FROM KATHY WEISER ONLINE.

The Pot belly stove is the emblem of Americana. More than any other cast iron stove, the potbelly stove was used in public spaces and businesses. Pot Belly Stoves were essential to the development of this country. With the help of the potbellied stove, stores were opened, railroads built and elections won or lost. These wood stoves were designed to heat large public spaces so that crowds could gather and cluster around the warmth of a wood fire. These cast iron wood stoves were of a superior construction and the Potbelly Stove endured the most rigorous and extreme conditions heating our country’s homes and rail roads across the country during the great Western Expansion…[continued]