What Is a Parlor Stove?

History

• A parlor is to homes from the Victorian era what living rooms are in homes today. Gentlemen retired to the parlor after dinner to smoke pipes and cigars. Young women were allowed to "court" suitors in the parlor, and everyone gathered to the room to play parlor games, such as Blind Man's Bluff and What Animal am I? Parlor stoves (also spelled "parlour"), were used to make the room warm, cozy and inviting; much like a fireplace does in modern living rooms. They were relied on as heat sources from around 1880 to 1920. However, not everyone was fortunate enough to have a parlor stove. They were costly heating appliances that only the well-to-do could afford.

Early Styles

• Parlor stoves kept up with design styles of the Victorian era, in that they were extravagant and highly ornate. They were made of cast iron and weighed several hundred pounds, and they had cylindrical, round base, square base styles. The Franklin free standing, square-base parlor stove was named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some of the larger manufacturers were Glenwood, Fuller & Warren and Forest King and Round Oak. Stove designs featured brass or copper knobs and handles and decorative finials on top of a hinged dome, like a hood ornament on an antique car. Some owners made customized metal plates engraved with their monograms or family crests and attached the plates to their stoves' front doors. Wood logs were the source of fuel for the earliest models and then coal became popular until around 1910, when gas became the new "it" fuel.

Antique Stove Restoration

• If you're lucky enough to run across an authentic antique parlor stove, be prepared for an extensive restoration process. Tasks include disassembly to check parts, cleaning, sandblasting to restore the condition of the cast iron, welding, painting and nickel plating -- which should all be left to a professional restorer for best results. Rely on the Internet to source the community of professional antique stove restorers who know parlor stoves inside and out. "The only limits to restoration are time and money," says Mike Strong, an acclaimed stove restorer and documentarist. Prices on fully restored antique parlor stoves range from $1,700 and up, at the time of publication.

Modern Parlor Stoves

• "Today's good stoves are built on the best designs developed before the turn of the century," says Mike Strong about modern parlor stoves. Choices include direct vent gas models, fueled by natural gas or liquid propane, and propane and wood log-burning units. Stoves manufactured today also meet EPA guidelines to provide heating efficiency ranges of 63 for wood burning stoves and up to 75 percent for gas and pellet-burning stoves and can heat anywhere from two to six rooms. Improvements include well-insulated combustion chambers and models that feature catalytic combustors. At the time of publication, prices for a new parlor stove start around $1,000.