wends his way through the room, past dilapidated stoves and cast-iron doors, beneath the burners nailed on wooden slats that hang from the ceiling like a hideous iron mural. Space heaters sit on ...

Last week Hobe Erwin, a Manhattan decorator, was fired by oil rationing and the trend of history to display his unique collection of 19th-Century coal and wood stoves (prices: $30 to $200).