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Object Timeline

1940

  • Work on this object began.

1950

  • Work on this object ended.

1993

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2015

2024

  • You found it!

American Beauty Iron

This is a Iron. It was manufactured by American Electrical Heater Company. It is dated ca. 1945 and we acquired it in 1993. Its medium is metal, plastic, rubber, electrical components. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The electric iron, credited to Henry W. Seeley in 1882, was revolutionized in the 1920s when the first thermostatically-controlled electric iron was produced. The iron changed again in 1938, with the debut of the first commercially popular steam iron, which paved the way for domestic electric steam irons in the 1940s and 50s. This iron, part of the American Electrical Heater Company’s “American Beauty” line of appliances, was a popular, streamlined take on the new technology.

This object was donated by Carole Krohn. It is credited Gift of Carole Krohn.

  • Silver Streak Iron
  • molded and emulsion-painted pyrex glass, cast and nickel-plated steel, molded....
  • Gift of George R. Kravis II.
  • 2015-5-12

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 12.4 x 25 x 12.3 cm (4 7/8 x 9 13/16 x 4 13/16 in.)

Cite this object as

American Beauty Iron; Manufactured by American Electrical Heater Company (United States); USA; metal, plastic, rubber, electrical components; H x W x D: 12.4 x 25 x 12.3 cm (4 7/8 x 9 13/16 x 4 13/16 in.); Gift of Carole Krohn; 1993-126-2

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18643543/ |title=American Beauty Iron |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>