Do you know Florence? FLorence Retro Vintage Stove - $225 (Jackson,MI)

[ovrphil]

some kind of errant model that came and went quickly? Cute stove, but not self-cleaning.

http://jxn.craigslist.org/ppd/5137709410.html

 

[norgeway]

Florence Stove Co

Gardner Mass, these were made for many years and were popular in the South, a very well built range.

 

[ovrphil]

Thank you Hans! I'm glad to hear these were well-made stoves.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Florence called their thermostatic burner control "Governess" and she was shown in ads in a tight white uniform--very much a man's fantasy.

 

[moparwash]

Looks like a Roper/Kenmore

The clock and the vents sure do. Reminds me of the Kenmore stove from growing up

 

[wayupnorth]

Most of the Florence stoves here as a kid were the huge combo kerosene heater on the left and gas on the right and the oven in the center. They were the first gas ones I had ever seen that had the broiler burner in the top of the oven cavity and not in a drawer below the oven. There are still some of those old Florences still going strong here after 50 years and more.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Did the kerosene heaters have to be vented into a chimney or were they like a couple of burners on a kerosene stove? That must have been an awful odor to have in a house. I remember the distinctive smell of the kerosene stove that my grandmother used for heating wash water in her basement. That would be awful in the kitchen and living areas.

 

[wayupnorth]

Yes, you had to vent the kitchen heaters into a chimney Tom because they ran 24/7 during the cold months. But the smell definitely was still there in the house when they were on. Just about all of the houses in this area used to have at least a chimney in the front and one in the back for the kitchen heater. Once people got central heating, those old arks were replaced with smaller electric or gas stoves. Many also had a coil that ran around the burner that heated water for the house into a tall storage tank next to the stove.