Ceramic, Carriages and Cold Feet

    Imagine it is 1894. You have been riding a train for 2 hours to visit your family. It's mid-winter, and a frigid wind is dancing through the air. You shiver from the cold and look down at your shoes. They aren't doing much good to keep your feet warm. So, what would you use to keep those feet from freezing solid? That is where the ceramic foot warmer comes into play.

                                                              Image credit: HomeThingsPast 

    In the 18th century, foot warmers came as a metal box filled with coals or hot bricks. People would carry these with them while traveling in carriages, trains, or even sleighs. Most of these were made of tin on a wooden frame, but wealthier people would have these 'foot stoves' (Yes, they were called foot stoves) made of brass or even silver. People would also often take them to church, where they would be used to warm people's feet during the service. However, in 1724, the use of foot stoves caused a third of the First Church of Roxbury (Mass.) to burn down, and the use of foot stoves was swiftly prohibited. When trains started to rise in popularity, foot warmers also started to be used on trains.

                                                           Image credit: Colonial Sense
    They could be earthenware filled with hot water, or they could be metal boxes filled with metal slugs or chemicals. Later on, footwarmers were built into the design of trains, and early cars would also have built-in foot warmers, as cars did not have heaters yet. 

    In the 19th and 20th centuries, ceramic footwarmers started becoming popular, with companies like Doulton's of England making these kinds of hot water bottles. These would be filled with hot water from an opening and would heat your feet, diverting from the earlier practices of warming feet with coals. These foot warmers would also be brought on trains as well. 

    So, the next time you're in the car with the heat on, imagine what it would be like to have to use a foot warmer to stay warm.

                                                                          My own foot warmer

Works Cited

Helen. “Foot Warmers: Hot Coals, Hot Water.” HomeThingsPast, 25 Apr. 2012, homethingspast.com/2012/04/25/foot-warmers/.

“Stoneware Foot Warmer, 1840-1860.” The Henry Ford, www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/182280/#:~:text=The%20warmer%20was%20kept%20under,charcoal%2C%20others%20held%20hot%20water. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024. 

Wright, Brian. “Foot Warmers.” Colonial Sense: Antiques: Other Antiques: Foot Warmers, www.colonialsense.com/Antiques/Other_Antiques/Foot_Warmers.php. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.