Recent Sales
Late 18th., Early 19th. century Fire Blower
A most unusual form of bellow is found in this example of an iron blower. ‘iron blowers’ were in the 1818 inventory of Virginia Gov. Preston taken in the Virginia Governor’s Mansion, built in 1811. They were long thin tubes with a mouth piece, which were also called ‘fender blower,’ ‘blower,’ ‘iron blow,’ ‘blow tube’ or ‘blow pipe.’ The blower has an upper end open full and the lower end having only a small hole, the object being to send out a jet of air under pressure which would start the fire. This particular example measures 20 1/2 inches long, examples can be longer or shorter. This example also has a hanging hook. Besides using them at the fireplace they were also used to extinguish candles that were elevated or in chandeliers. This is a wonderful piece for any lighting or fire accessory collector. Price: sold
