411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Italian iron
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
thumb|An Italian iron in the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Noun
en historical A tool used to goffer textiles or to smooth ruffles or frills.
en tally iron goffering iron
en 1877 Edward T. Stevens Domestic Economy for Girls, in three books 101 Goffering is done with an Italian iron, but it is not suitable for narrow or very delicate frilling, as it produces a stiff effect. Ironing III https://books.google.com/books?id=K0MCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA101
en 2001 Ivor Noel Hume Archaeology of Martin's Hundred 360 Very little has been written about the history of goffering irons, and no examples of this early period have been identified in English museums. Most of what is known is to be found in Lindsay (p. 36 and figs. 194-206), who notes that the tools were also known as tally irons—a corruption of “Italian irons,” whence the process is thought to have come. 953847781