Want to know how to make a delicious thin crust pizza on your round cast iron griddle? It’s easy! If you’re too antsy and want to get right to Debra’s recipe for the dough, skip down to the bottom of the post. I was at Home Goods recently and happened across a lovely 10.5″ round…
Manufacturers
Posts about cast iron manufacturers, and/or specific pieces made by those manufacturers. To narrow down results to a specific manufacturer, either type the name of the manufacturer in the "search" bar on the home page or look at the sub-category names in the category list in the sidebar.
Determining the Age of “ERIE” Skillets
You have an antique cast-iron skillet marked “ERIE.” How do you determine its age? I recently published the Roy Meadows article entitled”‘ERIE’ Skillets,” to the blog. This article is very useful for identifying and dating antique cast iron skillets marked “ERIE.” The timing was good for me, as I recently acquired two antique Griswold skillets:…
1883 Selden & Griswold Hollow Ware Product List Available for Download
Here’s a nice find: a digital reprint of an 1883 fold-out hollow ware product brochure by the Selden & Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania. As you can see, the front cover of the Selden & Griswold brochure has some handwritten words. I suspect the handwriting on the cover – “C.A.M. from M.G.Sr.” – refers…
1866 Savery Catalog, 49 pages: Public Domain, Free Download
This is a nice find! Here is a link to a 1866 Savery & Co., Proprietors, Philadelphia Iron Hollow Ware Foundry 49-page catalog, in the public domain and available for free download. The original is held by the University of Delaware, and it may be viewed there online. It may be downloaded at HathiTrust. Enjoy!
1924 Wagner Cast Iron and Aluminum Catalog Public Domain, Available for Download
I ran across the Wagner Manufacturing Company’s Catalog number 30 on the internet. It is a 96-page catalog from 1924. It is in the public domain and available for free download. You can find it here. These catalogs are an invaluable resource for collectors and enthusiasts.
The Origin of Griswold’s Erie Spider Trademark
The Griswold “Erie” Spider trademark skillet is among the most sought-after by collectors. What is the origin of the spider trademark, you ask? Bulletin A of Griswold’s “general catalogue” (1904) (left) gives us a pretty solid clue: The back of Bulletin A shows the spider trademark, and states: As the little spider brought success to…
Don’t be Misled: This Match Holder was not made by the Griswold Mfg. Co. of Erie, PA!
Just after posting Larry O’Neil’s slideshow about fakes and repros, I came across an interesting item up for online auction on July 26, 2025: a vintage cast-iron match keeper or holder marked “GRISWOLD” on the back. It’s Marked Griswold – is it Griswold? The auction house describes it as: Stamped Griswold match keep made of…
Fake and Reproduction Griswold and More, by Larry O’Neil
Many moons ago, Larry O’Neil prepared a presentation of some fake and reproduction Griswold and other poorly cast pieces that had crossed his path. Larry O’Neil, of course, is the movie star collector from Tacoma, Washington who – along with his so-not-shrinking-violet spouse Marg – has a ginormous private cast iron museum. Larry and Marg…