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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: medicmamma on June 01, 2010, 12:55:45 pm
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If anyone could help me with any info you may have on a wood burning stoves. I have one that I cannot find any info online about. It's a single burner with "Martin Stoves and Range Co. Florence Alabama" and the door has a heart with 20 R on it. I've looked up the company with no help from them. Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated. Here are a couple pictures of it if that may help as well.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y107/alkaline_soul/IMG_1218.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y107/alkaline_soul/IMG_1217.jpg)
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Welcome to the forum , medicmamma .
I sure do like the looks of your little stove .
Only thing I'd venture a guess at is that your stove was produced post-1918 , after they (the brothers Martin) formed the company with the same name as on your stove .
The history of the company sure has seen quite a few twists & turns , including a buy-out by employees of the iron casting business ; this does make me wonder if they'd re-cast earlier designs from 'archived' molds .
Wish I had more , but that's it for now .
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Welcome to the forum , medicmamma .
I sure do like the looks of your little stove .
Only thing I'd venture a guess at is that your stove was produced post-1918 , after they (the brothers Martin) formed the company with the same name as on your stove .
The history of the company sure has seen quite a few twists & turns , including a buy-out by employees of the iron casting business ; this does make me wonder if they'd re-cast earlier designs from 'archived' molds .
Wish I had more , but that's it for now .
Thank you and thank you! The crazy history of the company was about the only thing I could find also. Do you happen to know what something like this would possibly be worth without being restored?
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Sorry , medicmamma , not much of an expert on woodstove pricing here .
Assuming that your stove is fully functional & unbroken ...
I'd think about giving it a good washing (power-wash if possible) inside & out (with a wire-brush scrubbing of the o/s after) & then a couple of coats of flat black heat-resistant paint (or 'stoveblack') if I were trying to get a bit of cash for it (even though it looks as if the original color was not black) .
Not too much skilled work or cost involved with doin' that .
Most of all I'd get it out of the weather .
Spring/summer season not being the best time to sell such items might also affect getting a reasonable price (as well as the part of the world you're living in) .
Could be sold as 'rustic yard/farm/house' decoration , or as a working stove for a small cabin .
Perhaps others here will chime in too !
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I've been seeing prices all over the map , for box stoves in the era of yours , medicmamma .
They've ranged from $20 (a rusty hulk) to over $600 (billed as a 'restored' stove) , but none of the same manufacturer as yours .
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medicmamma, what you have there is often called a "chunk" stove which was primarily used for heating. It gets the name "chunk" because one could cut their firewood up to 2 feet long and not have to split it. A round piece of firewood will burn twice as long as a split piece and one doesn't have to tend the fire as often ....... like getting up in the middle of the night to add wood.
And I suggest on using Stove Black unless you are sure it is going to be a "decorator" piece. All cast iron stoves were "black" except those having colored "baked enamel". Black is the bestest radiator of the heat. And "cracks" don't hurt them a bit, a little Rutland Stove Cement will fix it right up and the Stove Blacking will cover it right up.
That is easy a $100 stove for someone that has a camp or needs one to put in their garage. Those are quite handy when the power goes out.
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Nice info cogar!