BANGOR, PENN. – An auction record for any fabric smoothing iron was set at $55,350 when Hartzell’s Auction Gallery, Inc., sold a fist-form example in its May 2 sale from the collection of Dave and Sue Irons. The 4-inch-long iron was made by J.G.F Libby and the auction gallery said it is the only known example in existence.

John Hartzell said the firm had six phones bidding on the lot. It sold to a museum in Bucharest, Romania.

For information, www.hartzellsauction.com or 610-588-5831.