Unused Fireplace Improvement Device

...in other words, a fireplace screen.
In former times, when the fireplace was the center of family activity, there were times - like the summer - when it fell into temporary disuse. As long as you had some other way of cooking, that is.

Since most fireplace screens are made of combustible materials, like the wood and fabric of this one, they were not really used when the hearth was being used to heat the general vicinity.

But in summer.....yeah, set it up! I have no provenance on this, but Ms. G and I ran into it quite by accident yesterday, and the price was right. I'm thinking that it was New York City-made ca. 1860. It's rosewood, carved in a transitional manner in the Rococo and Renaissance Revival styles, and it's big, like twice the size of our old one. It COULD have been made by Thomas Brooks or a similar top-drawer cabinet maker. The skill level of the petit point embroidery is remarkable; someone spent a lot of time on it, for sure.

We're super excited about this, and can't wait to get it placed in front of our (not in use) fireplace!

 

Definitely. What a find!