Octagon cast iron ovens

This unusual oven in the Kew Palace kitchen was made by the famous Carron Company of Scotland, and was restored in 2012 to its 1789 appearance under King George III (1738-1820). Cast iron octagon ovens were noted as early as 1751. The octagonal ovens were heated by the fire in the fire box, the ashes fell below, like later Rumford Roasters and other tin block ovens (pictures below).

Rumford Roaster - never before seen pieces

How great would it be to own a c200 year old Rumford Roaster!  This Rumford Roaster, made by Elijah Fuller of Salem, was originally in an 18th century house in Peabody MA, and was working into the late 20th century; the home was demolished and the oven was saved and installed in a new house. Again removed and stored, the current owner contacted me and hopes it will be used and appreciated once again.

Federal-era kitchen apparatus in Gadsby's Indian Queen Hotel, Baltimore

By 1815, the Indian Queen Hotel in Baltimore had state-of-the-art kitchen equipment: a "patent oven" (metal wall oven), "steam for boiling" (steam kitchens), "stoves set in brick" (stew stoves), smoke jacks to turn meat on spits and a coffee roaster.

The U.S. National Park Service is 100!

On August 25, 1916 President Woodrow Wilson created the US National Park Service - ranging from stellar landscapes to homes such as "Hampton".  And what a house... and kitchen!  When built in 1790 it supposedly was the largest private house in the United States.  The state-of-the-art kitchen included a stew stove and Reip metal wall oven.

Rumford Roasters and Reip Ovens

Not all metal ovens are Rumford Roasters.  Count Rumford (Benjamin Thompson, 1753 - 1814) and his Roasters, pictured left, are certainly the most well known, but other iron and tin ovens inserted into the side of the hearth were used in Europe and the United States such as the Reip Oven and Roaster of Maryland, patented in 1825.