"Considerable savings in wood": An economical stove of 1805

Abbildung und Beschreibung eines Sparofens zum Kochen und Heitzen. Von der Erfindung des kaiserl. königl. Raths, und ehemaligen Professors der Anatomie, Phisiologie und der Augenkrankheiten Hrn. Joseph Barth. - Wien : Gedruckt bey Joseph Gerold, 1805.

Austrian National Library, shelfmark: 309.756-B.Alt-Mag

Joseph Barth (1745-1818), professor of anatomy and oculist to emperor Joseph II., was known to his contemporaries as an eccentric, but also as a philanthropist and collector of art.

Barth’s description of a kitchen stove of his own design is further proof of the author’s wide interests. The contrivance promises not only a considerable saving of firewood, but also a better prevention of inadvertent fires as well as „better hygiene“: „On this stove no dishes get sooty, on the stove no glowing coals or ashes are to be found, one can never get dirty if not by particular clumsiness, even the food is protected from ashes and coals.“ This is achieved by a system of seperate „chests“, drawers and flaps. A minute description of the construction and the set-up of the stove is followed by instructions for general use and way of cooking, two engravings of a vertical section of the stove and an extra device for spit-roasting illustrate the text.