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Showing posts from August, 2014

Antique Iron Fences in Annapolis

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The Stewart Iron Works The Stewart Iron Works, 3rd & Culvert St, Cincinnati, O G. Krug & Son Ironwork Makers of Artistic Wrough Iron Work Gustav Krug - Gustav Krug immigrated to the US from Germany around 1850. He started working for a blacksmith shop in Baltimore and eventually took it over. The company still exists today - and is run by Krug's descendents. It is the US's oldest operating ironwoks.   Gustav Krug,  Maker (?) 178 Saratoga St., Batlo. MD                                                           from the Woods Baltimore City Directory from 1885 G. Krug & Son website The Art of Steel - piece on the company from NPR

Antique Iron Fences in Winnetka

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I found two antique fences in Winnetka  —  both made by the Stewart Iron Works. Stewart Iron Works, an ironworks plant located in Covington, Kentucky, was founded in 1886 and incorporated in 1910. A branch in Cincinnati operated from 1903 to 1915.  The Stewart Iron Works  —  Cinncinati, Ohio The Stewart Iron Works Co.  —  Covington, KY

Antique Iron Fences in Chicago

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I discovered some old fences while in the States this summer  –  first I found several beautiful antique fences on Hoyne Street in Chicago, and then I came across some in my suburb and in Annapolis, and now back in Lviv I have also started paying attention to them.  In all three places  –  Chicago, Winnetka, and Annapolis  –  I found fences made by Stewart Iron Works. This is not surprising as at one point this company was the largest iron fence maker in the world. *** The Stewart Iron Works Cincinnati Ohio Stewart Iron Works, an ironworks plant located in Covington, Kentucky, was founded in 1886 and incorporated in 1910. A branch in Cincinnati operated from 1903 to 1915.  Cincinnati Iron Fence Co. – Inc – Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.  Produced fences from the late nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries W.T. Barbee Fence Works It’s hard to find information about this company: "This company was apparently located i

Remnants of Merchants' Hoists in Annapolis

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In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries warehouses were built near the waterfront in Annapolis. They were used both to store goods coming into town from ships out in the Chesapeake Bay as well as to store goods like tobacco which were shipped to England. Some of these buildings have survived until today and still have the beams in place that used to be part of the hoist system, which lifted merchandise up to the house's storage spaces. These buildings now serve very different purposes.  This warehouse now houses a clothing shop   A waterfront warehouse c. 1800 (now it houses a museum)  This one houses an oyster bar

Fire Marks in Winnetka

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To my surprise, I found fire marks in my suburb! "Though long past are the days when the metal symbol of an insurance company affixed to the front of a house afforded its owner the only sure means of protection from loss by fire, these quaint marks are still occasionally found on early American dwellings and are eagerly captured by collectors when new buildings take the place of old. Used in London as far back as 1680 by the first insurance company to maintain its own fire brigade, this manner of marking insured houses was adopted in 1752 with the formation of the Philadelphia Contributionship, whose design of three hands clasped promised security to many a Quaker family. The vigilant eagle, the sheltering tree, miniature reproductions of the fire-fighters equipment-the engine, the hose, the fireplug-were some of the appropriate emblems chosen by other companies. Prominently placed, these little plates were also an added incentive to volunteer firemen, who knew that a reward aw