Roy Meadows and Jane Brymer of Newton, Connecticut, have collected Griswold cast-iron cookware for forty years. They are charter members of the national vintage cast-iron collectors’ group, the Griswold & Cast Iron Cookware Association (G&CICA), and were among the 105 attendees at the inaugural G&CICA meeting held in Erie, Pennsylvania, on April 2, 1992.
Roy and Jane’s Cast-Iron Collecting Journey
Roy and Jane have long been interested in antiques. Their cast-iron collecting journey began in 1985, when they attended an antique show in Pennsylvania and purchased six mismatched Griswold cast-iron skillets for cooking.
One of the skillets particularly caught Roy’s interest—it was plated. At that time, Roy and Jane were both chemical engineers at Union Carbide.1 Roy spoke with a metallurgist at Union Carbide about the plating process and began studying it.
As Roy’s interest in and knowledge of plated cast iron grew, so did their collection. Today, Roy and Jane own 778 pieces, 56.8% of which are plated.2The collection is almost entirely Griswold.
The content of the collection reflects the partnership between Roy and Jane. They agree on which pieces to buy and—usually—on the price to pay. Their current favorites include a heavily plated, unused Griswold heart and star waffle iron, a plated Griswold sundial, and a plated Griswold cowboy hat ashtray. They also particularly enjoy a set of eleven plated Griswold decorative trivets.
Roy and Jane’s Contributions to the Cast Iron Collecting Community and the G&CICA
Roy is renowned for his expertise on Griswold’s antique “ERIE” skillets within the cast iron collecting community. If you are interested in “ERIE” cast iron skillets, you have undoubtedly encountered his comprehensive research article, “Erie Skillets.”
Roy had observed confusion and a lack of knowledge about the “ERIE” skillets within the collecting community, and he set out to fill the gap. Around 1992, Roy began gathering, sorting, organizing, examining, reading, analyzing, observing, and consolidating as much accurate information as possible regarding Griswold’s antique “ERIE” skillets.
After hundreds of hours of work, Roy’s first “Erie Skillets” article was published in 2009.3 Since then, Roy’s work and observations have continued; the article was updated in 2016 and 2025.4
Roy’s study identifies, dates, and describes the characteristics of the six series of Griswold’s “ERIE” skillets and the ERIE “spider” skillet. It also recognizes 29 pattern maker’s marks on some of the series 2 “ERIE” skillets. Roy’s work has greatly benefited the entire cast iron collecting community.
Roy was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement” award at the 2024 G&CICA convention in Erie, Pennsylvania. He and Jane have attended many G&CICA annual conventions, actively participating and assisting throughout. Roy has presented several times on Griswold’s “ERIE” and Victor skillets5 and has given table talks about the skillets and plating processes. He and Jane also typically host a table at the swap meet, selling duplicates from their collection.
Roy and Jane appreciate the many friendships they have made in the group and value the free sharing of information with other collectors.[/note]Applications for membership may be accessed at the G&CICA website. The group also has a very active Facebook page. [/note]
A Story from Roy and Jane
My interview with Roy and Jane was engaging and wide-ranging. One interesting story they shared with me involves their collection of eleven plated Griswold decorative trivets. According to the story, a Griswold employee from the plating division plated the traditionally black cast iron trivets for his personal enjoyment.6 After the employee passed away, the trivets were discovered in his attic. Griswold collector Dave Lange acquired the trivets from the family.
Advice for New Collectors
Roy’s advice is quite succinct: “Get it when you can; no more will be made.”
- Roy currently has a handyman business, and Jane is a partner in an estate and moving sale business.
- Roy and Jane maintain a spreadsheet containing their collection’s inventory. This enabled Roy to quickly tell me the total number of pieces in their collection and the number (442) of plated pieces.
- Roy quickly credits contributions made to his “ERIE” skillet knowledge base by others within the cast iron collecting community, including W. Dean Fitzwater, Steve Stephens, John Madole, Joel Schiff, Calvin Smith, Doris Mosier, and Larry O’Neil.
- The first version of the article was published in 2009, and an updated version was published in 2016. On March 17, 2025, while assisting me with background for this writing, Roy made two more updates: a four-leaf clover was added to the list of pattern maker’s marks, and pattern number 709 was added to the Third Series number 8 skillets on the “ERIE” Chart of Characteristics.
- Roy and Jane own all 20 of the known Griswold “Victor” skillets.
- Roy believes that the Griswold employee may have plated a “couple” of other sets of trivets.
