A Victorian cast iron Goffering iron and heating poker.

British c1880

Iron 7” high x 3 ¾” diameter. Poker 17” long / 17.7cm h x 9.5cm dia. Poker 43cm long

£195.00 sold

The Goffering iron or the Italian or tally iron was used to iron made-up bows and bonnet strings, and to ‘get up’ ruffs and frills. It consisted of one or more barrels of different diameter, into which were placed iron poking sticks, which the housewife heated over the fire. She would hold the tied ribbon or the top of the frilled material around the heated barrel until it was smooth and dry. Taken from The National Trust, Forgotten Household Crafts by John Seymour 1992