African-American patents an ironing boardIn 1892, a U.S. patent for a specialized “Ironing Board” was issued to the black American inventor, Sarah Boone, likely a former slave (No. 473,653). Her design featured a quite narrow padded board, curved to make it easier to iron sleeves. Numerous patents were issued before hers with similar titles. The first patent designated specifically as an “Ironing Table” was issued several decades earlier, in 1858, to W. Vandenburg and J. Harvey (No. 19,390). Unpatented styles evolved from long long before that, so no single inventor can be identified for the earliest ironing board. For example, J.H. Mallory's “Ironing Table,” patented 24 Oct 1871 (No. 120,296) more closely resembles today's adjustable-height, collapsible model.« |
