Nursery Brass Heating Vent, Service Wing (1832-1834)
Hyde Hall, Springfield, New York
Supplied by Peter Smith
Albany, New York
1830
On November 1, 1830, George Clarke (1768-1835) purchased eleven heat regulators or vents from Peter Smith, a copper-smith in Albany, NY. Ten were used to control the amount of hot air for the first floor rooms of the Great House at Hyde Hall, and one was placed in the nursery. The heat was generated in a hot air chamber by a soapstone furnace which was purchased from Allen Goodridge and Company of Albany on August 21, 1830. The furnace was located in a fire proof room in the northwest corner of the Great House with direct access from the outside.
