Ironing was done on a padded board placed between two chairs or on a table covered with a quilt. The irons were heated on the stove or in the fireplace, and the only temperature control was a wet finger touched to the iron to see how much it sizzled! The irons didn't hold the heat very long so you had one or two heating all the time. Most things were starched and there was a real art to getting the iron just hot enough to iron without scorching the starch.