Cast-iron stove making in America reached its highest artistic achievement and technological advancement between 1840 and 1870. During the nineteenth century, manufacturers in Albany and Troy, New York, were among the largest producers of cast-iron stoves in the world. Stoves made in these two cities were renowned for their fine quality castings and innovations in technology and design. The strategic locations of Albany and Troy, nine miles apart on opposite banks of the Hudson River, afforded easy and inexpensive transportation of raw materials to the foundries and finished stoves to worldwide markets. The raw materials for stove making were abundantly available in the region: iron ore came mainly from New York State, and limestone was obtained from the counties surrounding Albany and Troy. Charcoal was also produced locally, and the finest molding sand in the world came from nearby Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties. Low and Leake, the makers of this stove, took out a patent for the design on August 10, 1844. It is in the popular Neoclassical style, with architecturally inspired volutes and moldings and surmounted by an imposing American eagle.