Fortunate is he who, on opening up the old fireplace in the house he intends to remodel, finds hidden away behind plaster and paper a pair of old andirons and possibly a shovel and tongs, indispensable furnishings for the fireplace. No old farmhouse but what has in almost every room some kind of an open hearth, and these are useless for the burning of wood without fire-dogs or andirons, as they are commonly known.
To the inexperienced house owner who is looking for economy in his house furnishing, reproductions are tempting, and most attractive sets of fire-dogs are to be found in almost every store. In choosing a set, however, one must exercise judgment. Many of the reproductions are low in cost but are really merely lengths of brass piping, showing brass balls that are lacquered and strung together on invisible wire frames. They are in reality the cheapest kind of spun-brass andirons. If one with a knowledge of the weight of brass handles them, he will realize their flimsiness, but thousands of people do not recognize the difference. Poor fireplace accessories such as these detract greatly from the charm that surrounds a good hearth and mantel.
It is no longer easy to pick up original, cut-brass andirons at the antique and junk shops,—that is, at a reasonable price. It is in the country places, old farmhouses, and from people who have not yet learned to gage their worth, that one can get a good bargain, bringing often only three or four dollars a pair, and being of the best material. In reproduction there are on the market to-day plenty of good, cast-brass andirons, but they are expensive and cannot be purchased at less than seven dollars, ranging from that to a hundred dollars a pair, while the spun-brass kind may be purchased for two dollars and a half a pair.
Andirons come in a great many heights, and in the olden times two sets were used, the one holding the forestick, and the other the backlog. In addition to that, in the earliest American houses, creepers were used; they were, in reality, of iron, small enough to be placed between the andirons, and they helped out in holding the sticks. The first material used for andirons was iron, and we find to-day occasional specimens of this kind, many of them not particularly graceful, while others are very ornamental in design. There are the Hessian andirons which are found either in plain iron or decorated with bright paint; these came into use about 1776 and were used to caricature the British soldiers who were very unpopular in our country.
The most interesting of these old andirons show unusual shapes, a great many of them having artistic ornamentation; occasionally we find them with brass tops. It was fitting to use this metal, on account of the fire frame, which was of cast-iron as well, and while many of these were of foreign manufacture, yet not a few were fashioned by the village blacksmith. In the choice of andirons, the size of the fireplace should be considered; the small ones should not have the steeple tops but small, ball pattern or some other design that is low enough not to crowd the fireplace and thus give the impression of bad taste. The large fireplaces need the high andirons, of which there are so many different kinds. The modern adaptation of the Colonial has brought these furnishings into vogue, so that to-day it would be almost impossible to tell the old from the new.
Shovel and tongs were much used during the early period, but a poker never accompanied the set. These appeared after the introduction of coal and are found among the reproductions on the market to-day. Another bit of the furnishings is the fender, of which there are many designs, some being of simple wire painted black with brass top and balls, while others are entirely of brass. The warming-pan is an appropriate accessory for this part of the room; it should be hung on a peg at one side of the hearth. In addition to that, we find the bellows, some of which are most decorative in their design. The proper selection of this furniture gives an air of refinement to the room.
There is a most attractive farmhouse situated in Dover, Massachusetts. It is owned by Mr. George D. Hall, and shows a series of remodelings, rather than a complete work, for each year an addition has been made which has bettered the initial scheme. The original farmhouse, for instance, which was built in 1729, was a small, unpretentious building that was very dilapidated in condition, but whose situation appealed to its present owner. It was his desire to obtain an old house that could be used if need be for an all-the-year-round home; plenty of land, picturesque views, good landscape effects, and ample elbow room were what he especially desired.
Lone Tree Farm