I couldn’t figure out where to put these two odd stories that both involve antique G.F. Filley cast iron pieces, so…here they are! THE SUNKEN STEAMBOAT BERTRAND AND ITS TREASURES The steamboat Bertrand sank in the Missouri River on April 1, 1865 after hitting a submerged log about 25 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. Bound…
Griswold Cookware
Collectors and Collections,
History and Stories
Griswold, Lodge, Wagner, Favorite, Wapak, and More!
Ask Mary: How “Rare” is this Cast Aluminum Griswold Slant Logo ERIE Skillet?
Jody M. of Whittier, North Carolina wrote to me and asked: Can you tell me how rare a Griswold 2011 Cast Aluminum Skillet Slant Erie with wooden handle is? I responded to Jody and asked her to please send me photos of the pan. Here are the two she sent (lightened and converted to black…
Videos of the O’Neil Cast Iron Museum
Four videos of the 4500 square foot vintage and antique cast iron cookware museum display of Marg and Larry O’Neil of Tacoma, Washington.
Griswold Cast Iron Vintage Quaker Ware Dealer Ads
One handy way to learn about the pieces in a particular line of vintage or antique cast iron cookware is to get your hands on an old catalog or old advertisements for the product. As I like to say, “Follow the paper trail!” The paper can give you verifiable information about a product. Dealer ads…
An Example of Resourcefulness during the Great Depression
A Twitter follower of mine – @therealjoedick – shared an amazing story with me about his grandparents. Here is what he said: Here’s a bit of history for your readers. In the Depression my grandparents made ends meet by using the family Wagner Ware as patterns to make and sell aluminum cookware. They built that…
Three Versions of Vintage All-In-One Cast Iron Dinner Skillets
I recently had the pleasure of seeing three different vintage All-In-One cast iron skillets/separators within a time span of about 2 weeks. (Note: this writing was originally made and posted in 2018). Purpose of All-In-One Cast Iron Dinner Skillet My understanding of the all-in-one cast iron dinner skillet is that the division in the pan…
Griswold’s “Aunt Ellen” Recipe for Chicken Mousse
I scoured all of Aunt Ellen’s recipes looking for ones I was willing to try. Her recipe for chicken mousse was by far the scariest to me. Here is Aunt Ellen’s recipe for “Chicken Mousse” in its entirety: Chop finely in the Griswold chopper enough chicken to have two cupfuls. Soften a tablespoon gelatin in…
Aunt Ellen’s “Delmonico Potatoes”
from The Aunt Ellen Booklet on Waterless Cooking …with 50 famous recipes from Aunt Ellen Aunt Ellen recommended that her “Mexican Meat Roll” be served alongside Delmonico potatoes. I was making the meat roll, so… Who am I to question Aunt Ellen? Delmonico potatoes, it would be. Here is Aunt Ellen’s 1928 recipe in its…