Object number
51/114/1
Collection
Description
Stand for a goffering iron for crimping and fluting cuffs, collars and trimmings. The tube was heated by inserting a metal poker-like rod.
Stand for a goffering iron for crimping and fluting cuffs, collars and trimmings. The goffering iron was a metal tube set horizontally on a stand. The tube was heated by inserting a metal poker-like rod. See 51/114/2-3 for the two rods. Nothing is known about the origins of this iron.
Physical description
1 goffering iron: metal
Label Text
Tally iron. This finishing or tally iron is for smoothing and crimping frills and cuffs. It consists of a barrel on a stand and two rods. Nothing is known about the origins of this iron. The iron was heated by inserting a metal poker-like rod, fresh from stove or hearth. Then frilled cuffs and collars could be curled round the cylinder, and other trimmings, like ribbons, were moved across it. Ruffs and frilly collars and cuffs were popular fashion items from the Elizabethans to the Victorians and were a sign of wealth, as this it required expensive fabrics and hard work to create an extravagant ruff or collar.
Archival history
MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/114 // NAME: GOFFERING IRONS + STAND // NEG NO.: 35/85, 35/142 // STORAGE: ', Note - 15/3/18 - see 51/113 (p.212)
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_85.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_142.tif - High resolution image
