1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Fire-irons

FIRE-IRONS, the implements for tending a fire. Usually they consist of poker, tongs and shovel, and they are most frequently of iron, steel, or brass, or partly of one and partly of another. The more elegant brass examples of the early part of the 19th century are much sought after for use with the brass fenders of that date. They were sometimes hung from an ornamental brass stand. The fire-irons of our own times are smaller in size and lighter in make than those of the best period.