Since the days of Charles Dickens, at Christmas we want create the perfect warm, familiar, and festive atmosphere. The fireplace is the central element of all this choreography, the place where the entire family gathers. It is here where hang our stockings which Santa will fill with sweets, oranges and toys.
In small steps the fireplace has come to be what we know today but the real turning point in the design of fireplaces came at the end of the eighteenth century. One of the major developments was the work of two American colonists: Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Thompson. From the studies on improving the efficiency of fireplaces, a stove-fireplace called the Pennsylvania fireplace, or Franklin stove, was born. An extraordinary success that is still produced today.
The use of the fireplace is almost completely lost but in the markets it is common to come across a fireplace plaque, often beautifully decorated. The purpose of the plate is to protect the wall itself and has the additional advantage that its cast iron, heated by the fire, radiates additional heat. We can also come across andirons (I love those with figures of ladies, knights or animals). These elevations were used to limit the separation of the trunks by improving the ventilation of the wood. Its also preventing the wood from separating and breaking the fire. For this reason all the andirons have a front elevation.
Only a few have a fireplace in the house today but why not give a touch of originality to our home? The andirons are perfect book holders, furnishing a corner of the living room. A cast iron plates, if placed to repair the wall behind the stove, can be the center of attention in both a kitchen.
MY READINGS
A Christmas Carol, written in 1843, still retains its power to move and point out to humanity. An example of brotherhood and a path of hope. It is certainly the story of Charles Dickens that most of us grew up with. Who can forget Ebenezer Scrooges encounter with the ghosts of Christmas and Tiny Tim. A pleasant reading and the best choice in the Christmas period.
