Antique Irons

Occasionally, when we were dusting the large expanse of wooden shelves in my childhood home, my mom would take down these antique irons and show them to me.  She recalled that one of her grandmothers had used the heavy old metal "sad" iron with its wooden handle.  It would have to be heated in the fireplace or wood stove before each use. 

I'm not sure if the iron rest is as old as the iron itself.  The tiny iron with its wooden handle was a toy that Mom played with when she was young.