Warmer, Foot

Title:

Foot Warmer

Object Name:

Warmer, Foot

Creator:

Unknown

Date:

1830-1840

Material:

Wood, tin, and steel

Dimensions:

H-4.75 L-21 Dia-7 inches

Description:

Foot warmer of typical 19th century form consisting of a wooden frame with four turned posts, thicker at the middle where an incised line encircles the post. The top of the frame consists of four wooden elements with the sides through-tenoned into the front and back (and the posts also tenoned through these joints) and two other square elements running front to back on the top. The bottom of the frame is constructed in the same fashion but without the two additional elements. Within the frame is a tin box with a hinged door in the front. The top of the box has three sets of two rows of eight pierced holes; the back, sides, and front have a six-pointed star within a circle in the center (the front star is in the door) and there are holes pierced around the perimeter. A wire loop serves as a door pull; a curved wire bail handle for carrying is designed to be fastened to the top. There is a small tin pan inside the box for coals.

Provenance:

Up until the mid-1800s, American homes and public buildings were often poorly heated. In order to help keep warm, people utilized the foot warmer, which was a box with holes poked in the sides and a tray inside for the hot coals. A metal handle or rope was included so that the user could transport the warmer more easily.

From the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries, women and children often carried their foot warmers to church. The women's long skirts would hang over the foot warmer, which would hold in the precious heat.

Foot warmers were popular in early America as wedding gifts, and were therefore commonly decorated with hearts.

Subjects:

Foot warmer, Heaters, Household equipment

Place of Origin:

New England

Collection Name:

Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire

Item Number:

2010.004

Accession Number:

2010.004

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the American Independence Museum

Credit Line:

American Independence Museum

Participating Organization:

American Independence Museum