Chairs by the Ironrite Ironer Company?

**mccarch** · August-11-09, 07:09 PM

The NYTimes featured an interesting summer house in last week's issue. The house's interior was classic modern, including the following chair:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...ideshow_9.html

I've never heard of this company or the chair. Does anyone have any more information? Thanks.

**eriedearie** · August-11-09, 07:21 PM

Quick google brings up several links - here's one: http://www.grandrapidssuperads.com/M...g_Machine.aspx

We used to sell a lot of those at The Good Housekeeping Shops.

**Homer** · August-11-09, 07:30 PM

Yes the chair could be purchased to match your mangle.
http://www.modern50.com/chairssofas/...-health-chair/

**Maof** · August-11-09, 07:54 PM

oh memories....we had a "mangle" and mom would let me iron hankies on it

**Maof** · August-11-09, 07:58 PM

http://www.factory20.com/furniture/i...th-chair-1938/

I guess they were called health chairs? I'll be keeping an eye out for one of these!

**gazhekwe** · August-11-09, 08:10 PM

There is a lot of info here, including pix and ads for Ironrite, the patent info for the health chair, and more.

There is a pic of a great old building, home of American Beauty Irons until 1995, Woodward north of Grand Boulevard.

Enjoy:

http://www.jitterbuzz.com/indirn.html

**Andrew in Windsor** · August-11-09, 09:02 PM

Nice picture, too bad it's Lowell's.

http://detroityes.com/industry/41american_beauty.htm

Hope he got permission to use it.

**Mama Jackson** · August-11-09, 09:28 PM

I had to iron the pillow cases on ours. I wish I could find one now [[with the chair-or course), there are times when they are VERY handy!

**gazhekwe** · August-11-09, 09:35 PM

My grandma worked in a convent laundry, and I would go help her. They had a huge mangle, and she would save the collars and I-forget-what-they-call those forehead pieces. Nice flat things. She would starch them, and I would smooth them out and put them through the mangle. They would come out nice, just like cardboard. It really smelled good, too.

**Ray1936** · August-11-09, 09:40 PM

"and I-forget-what-they-call those forehead pieces"

Wimples.

**gazhekwe** · August-11-09, 09:44 PM

That's it! Thanks.

**48202** · August-11-09, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Andrew in Windsor

Nice picture, too bad it's Lowell's.

http://detroityes.com/industry/41american_beauty.htm

Hope he got permission to use it.

Guess who's in the cast of the documentary film American Beauty LTD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162852/

**Hamtragedy** · August-11-09, 11:31 PM

Oooh. We had one of those chairs growing up. As I recall it was frustratingly uncomfortable.

**reddog289** · August-12-09, 12:07 AM

Good thing my girlfriend don't go on here, She would want one of those Ironrite machines and then it would sit in the basement like my carparts sit in the garage.

**Maxine1958** · August-12-09, 10:10 AM

I would love to have a mangle again - and the space to use it.

We gave ours away when we left our house in Detroit. We gave it to a church to use for their altar linens.

I used to iron my jeans on it back in the 70's. As a matter of fact, I could iron almost anything on it except blouses.

Zip, zip, zip and the ironing was done!

**SWMAP** · August-12-09, 10:24 AM

I possess a beautiful gas/electric mangle from maybe the 1930's or 1940's. It belonged to a wonderful home-maker of German extraction. She and her husband built the little house across the street from mine in the early 1900's. Husband was the chief of the printers at the Detroit News. He spoiled her with wonderful appliances of the period. The kitchen range was gas and wood burning, because the wife liked to bake strudels in the wood-burning oven. The last daughter, who lived in her Father's house for her entire life, gave me the mangle and chair.

The developer of the mangle was a guy from Windsor who built his factory in Cleveland.

I do intend someday to get the mangle running. Needs a gas hook-up and I'm sure that will be a code problem, somehow.

**56packman** · August-12-09, 01:25 PM

American Beauty made solder irons principally, I think for a while they made clothing irons, but the bulk of their business was making these wonderful, heavy-duty soldering irons. I have about four of them, all really old, with the black wooden handle and massive heating element. I bought two of them brand new, in the box, for pretty cheap. For mechanical soldering there is nothing better.
They are still in business, they moved to Clawson over 10 years ago.

http://www.americanbeautytools.com/site/