The terminology of jamb hooks is quite amusing. People often hear "put the fireplace tools in the jamb hooks" and think you jamb them into the brass hooks attached to the mantle. Hence the name jamb hooks, not true. The term jamb means window, door or mantal sides. Jamb hooks are hung on the side of the mantle or mantle jambs. The earliest ones were made of wrought iron with a sharp point to drive into the mantle jamb or upright side stile.

Jamb hooks using cast brass were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Various back plates styles ranged from oval, scalloped, round or square. Most jamb hooks were made in pairs but a few oversized singles( for holding two tools upright) were made. The plain C-hook was most common, but a few of the sophisticated jamb hooks had motifs that matched fire tools or andirons. Some even had ingenious mounting brackets that allowed the hooks to be removed for easy polishing. The Jamb hooks attached to the side jambs of a mantle to hold fireplace tools upright ready for immediate use.

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