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Here's another nice
Rumford fireplace from Jim Buckley's picture collection.
Click here for a larger view. Photograph by Hilary Turner
Photography
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Count Rumford, for whom the
fireplace is named, was born Benjamin Thompson in Woburn, Massachusetts
in 1753.
Because he was a loyalist, he left (abruptly) with the British in
1776. He spent part of his life as an employee of the Bavarian
government where he received his title, "Count of the Holy Roman
Empire." Rumford is known primarily for the work he did on the nature of
heat.
Back in England, Rumford applied his knowledge
of heat to the improvement of fireplaces. He made them smaller and
shallower with widely angled covings so they would radiate better. And
he streamlined the throat -- or in his words "rounded off the breast" --
so as to "remove those local hindrances which forcibly prevent the smoke
from following its natural tendency to go up the chimney..."
Rumford wrote two papers detailing his
improvements on fireplaces in 1796 and in1798. He was well known and
widely recognized during his lifetime -- so much so that almost
immediately in the 1790s his "Rumford fireplace" became state-of-the-art
worldwide.
Rumford fireplaces are enjoying a comeback
today, with the extensive restoration of old and historic houses
and the renewed popularity of early American and classical architecture
in new construction.
Rumford fireplaces are generally appreciated for their tall classic
elegance and their heating efficiency.
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