Andiron
an iron bar supported on three feet. A pair of andirons stood in every old-fashioned fireplace or open hearth to hold the burning logs of wood. The outer ends of the bars were turned upward to prevent the wood from rolling outward. Ordinarily they were plain iron bars shaped by the village blacksmith, but they were fashioned, not infrequently, with artistic care, the upright ends terminating in knobs, sheathed in brass or silver. Irving speaks of the care which the good Dutch housewives bestowed on the knobs of their andirons to keep them polished. See Heating
And, for the winter fireside meet,
Between the andirons' straddling feet,
The mug of cider simmered slow,
The apples sputtered in a row,
And, close at hand, the basket stood
With nuts from brown October's wood.--Whittier, Snowbound.
Between the andirons' straddling feet,
The mug of cider simmered slow,
The apples sputtered in a row,
And, close at hand, the basket stood
With nuts from brown October's wood.--Whittier, Snowbound.
Volume I · Aiton’s Encyclopedia