The Wrought Iron Range Company was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1881. The company designed and produced top-of-the-line cookstoves, under the brandname "Home Comfort," and they sent their salesmen door-to-door to sell them. Serious customer prospects would be treated to an in-home demonstration. Not only were the stoves well-made, they had thoughtful features and they looked great. They burned wood or coal.
Home Comfort stoves were made of cast iron and wrought iron. Although cast iron is very strong (and much less expensive to produce), it can become brittle—especially under constant heating and cooling. Home Comfort stoves utilized both types of metal to minimize cracking, which sometimes afflicted their competitors' stoves.
The Home Comfort stoves also were designed with many thoughtful features: numerous cooktop surfaces, well-designed oven cavities, easy-cleaning features, even handy towel racks.
Most of all, Home Comfort stoves looked great in the home. Each handsome and heavy oven was accented with nickel-plated mountings, including the brand-plate, shown above. Such a sharp-looking design made the Home Comfort stove a desirable addition to any modern, Turn-of-the-Century home.
The nickel-plated "Home Comfort" nameplate, shown above, was probably made in the 1910's. While there are light indications of age, it is still in good condition. It would have been mounted to a Home Comfort stove door over 100 years ago. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.