Description:This spirit heated sad iron has a perforated steel body. It is heated by an iron element connected to a small cylindrical container fitted to the back. Wooden handle. It is marked as size number 2 and weighs 2 3/4lbs. First appearing in the 1850s this type of iron, which used methylated spirits or alcohol as fuel, was often used by travellers but many were made for domestic use. This iron originally belonged to the Bretherton family of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
From the Staffordshire county Museum collection.