Oh WOW! That is indeed a nice one. I was lucky when I found mine in a thrift store for $10 back in the early 80s. I was even luckier that Jeff had worked for the company that serviced Ironrites so he knew exactly what to do to get mine in perfect operating order. He even worked on Ironrites at the Supreme Court, where I think he said they had three, and a big commercial one at the White House. The one at the White House was unusual for an institutional model in that it was heated electrically so the heating element, which they replaced, ran the full width of the large ironer. Because of that, the ironer had to be moved to a diagonal position in the room to permit the removal and installation of the heating element.
Many ironers sat unused. After WWII, people wanted automatic washers and even wringer washers. Both were in short supply, but there were more ironers available than people who wanted them so some manufacturers and dealers used the situation to almost force people to buy an ironer to be able to purchase a washing machine. Ironer production dropped dramatically as homes got smaller and then Wash 'n Wear fabrics reduced the field to mostly just Ironrite. It was, in many ways, the best one produced. Many, especially by now, have gone to the crusher, so finding one in nice shape, even at a high price, is a rare event.
