Antique 1890s St. Louis Cast Iron Sad Iron - Solid Metal Handle Clothes Press

Manufactured at the turn of the century (circa 1890s–1910s), this solid-cast piece of household history was an absolute essential for traditional clothes pressing before the advent of electricity.  Cast as a single piece of solid iron with an integrated all-metal loop handle, this flatiron proudly features the historic regional mark "ST LOUIS" cast in bold raised relief directly across the top flat portion of the grip.

Over the span of a century, it has developed a magnificent, authentic dark gunmetal grey and heavily oxidized rustic patina. Utterly solid, incredibly heavy, and bursting with primitive character, it serves as a spectacular vintage doorstop, an industrial shelf bookend, a heavy desk paperweight, or a core addition to a collection of early American ironware.