Flue Covers On Display And Sale At The Grist Mill

June 18, 2021

During the Victorian era and beyond, homes were heated with wood, oil, or coal stoves. These stoves, of course, had to have a vent pipe to the outside, or to other rooms in the house, which created a hole in the wall, called a flue. What happens when a vent pipe is removed for good and the wall isn’t replastered? Some inventive soul came up with the flue cover, which became an artistic covering.
At first, many old houses just had plain metal grills, or metal plates that may have been decorated. As the years went on, more and more flue covers were painted with or without glass coverings. These flue covers included a chain so the cover could be hung on the wall above the hole and dangle over the opening.
Businesses began giving flue covers out before 1900 as a gesture of good will. Strangely enough, the name of the business was not painted on the flue cover until mostly the 1940s.
Collectors of flue covers can find them decorated with various motifs, such as scenery, animals, children, Victorian era ladies and flowers, among other themes. The Grist Mill Antiques Center has a fine selection of antique flue covers for both beginner and advanced collectors. Own a business? A grouping of flue covers makes great décor on a wall in an office or restaurant.
The Grist Mill Antiques Center is open seven days a week (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The multi-dealer shop is located at 127 Hanover St. in Pemberton Borough right next to the bridge over the Rancocas Creek in Pemberton, N.J.
Bring a picnic lunch and sit at our picnic table overlooking the scenic creek and do some browsing inside.
For more information, call 609-726-1588.


 

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