History does not say when people decided to iron their clothes, but one version of early Clothes Irons was called a sad iron. Yes, I would be sad to use those primitive irons, but the original meaning of the term `sad' was 'heavy'. They were made of metal, including the handle, and were heated on an open fire. The housewife`s hands would often get burned if her apron or insulating rags slipped from around the handle. There had to be a better clothes iron just waiting to be invented.

Other vintage and antique clothes irons were sometimes filled with burning coal, fueled by white gasoline, and sometimes attached to gas lines. Ironing was dangerous and hot work for the lady of the house due to fires and explosions. Into this scene stepped Mrs. Potts, with her innovative sad iron, metal, but filled with a non-conductive substance, like, Plaster of Paris. The handle was wood or ceramic, and it was detachable. Now, many metal irons could be heating at once, on a burner or flame, and the hard working woman could detach the handle from an iron that had cooled, and pick up a hot iron and continue with her time-consuming chore. Thank you, Mary Florence Potts.

The next innovation was an electric iron, powered by a carbon arc, also a dangerous prospect. The iron heated by electrical resistance was brought forth by Crompton and Co. as well as by General Electric, within ten years of the carbon arc iron. Finally, the electric steam clothes iron was invented in the 1950`s. One would think there was nothing new to be seen in the world of ironing clothes. Competition brings out innovation, however and ironing clothes takes on a whole new meaning.

Go to your local Wal Mart, Sears or Target and you will see irons that steam, or spray; they may shut themselves off automatically or retract their cords. You can buy an iron for as little as eleven dollars, or you can spend well over sixty dollars at your local chain store. There are travel irons, rechargeable irons, steam irons, self cleaning irons. Irons are available for professional use, for travel use, and for commercial uses. Used irons reveal some of their history, if you find one from the fifties you will note that it is heavy and substantial, and tiring to use.