McClary "Florence" Oil Stove

Datec. 1920s

DimensionsOverall: 147 × 164 × 54.5 cm (1.47 × 1.64 × 0.55 m)

Credit LineGift of Harold S. Curtis, Burlington, Ontario, 1994

Object number1994.052.001

Label TextThis 1920s Florence Automatic Blue Flame oil stove offered cooks some advantages over wood and coal stoves. It did not require frequent refueling. It was easier to light and to control temperature. It was more efficient. It was sold in parts: the burners, the oven and the “mantle,” or the back shelf compartment, were sold separately. Advertisements for the stove asked consumers who wouldn’t prefer a cool kitchen on a hot summer day? The Florence oil stove was one of several stove models the McClary Manufacturing Company produced in the 1920s. In addition to oil burners, it produced wood burning stoves and those powered by electricity. While London households had access to the hydroelectric grid from 1910, many rural households were unconnected. They continued to use wood or oil, fuel they could source locally, and which could be transported by rail.

NameStove