Oops! I bought 7 pieces today...

B

BenjaminO

Member
Hello fellow iron lovers. This is my first post, so I hope you like it.
I woke up this morning early to go to my local flea market. It's a great place to find absolute junk, garbage, and rubbish! I told my companions I was hunting for cast iron and set off into the fray. Somehow I didn't see my friends for the next couple hours, but when I emerged I was carrying 7 pieces of iron. Probably a little more than I had in mind, but all in all I only spent $68 which is reasonable out here on the West Coast.
I picked up two #5, two #6, and two #8 then as I was on my way out I stumbled upon a strange get-marked cauldron.
The number 5's are both mysterious to me, one has the biggest ears (pour spouts) I've ever seen, no markings visible under the crustiness. there are 3 small indentations at the base of the handle. It seems to be of fine quality so I'm excited to see how it cleans up.
One of the #8's is a Wagner Ware and seems a bit larger than the other and has a narrow rim running around the top. I wouldn't have gotten this but the seller chased me down after deciding to accept my $5 offer. I'm excited to clean this one up as if seems to have a nickel finish! I'm guessing this one was meant to be the lid to a matching pot or something? Does anyone have thoughts on it's collectible-ness? It should a make a fine user regardless.
The Cauldron however is the real reason for this post. I'm rather curious to know what the experts think of it. I'm guessing it's very old, and it has a rather interesting shape. it tapers from the top, down the very bottom with no "corners". Completely rounded on the inside, it must make an awesome pot for brewing potions! 3 legs on the bottom, and what looks like 1 7 in relief. Please have a look at the pictures, I'd love to know more about it and identify it's origins.
Thanks for reading this rather long-winded post. I'm not sure how to make my pictures small enough to fit on here, so peep the link.
Thanks for the awesome community here,
Benjamin

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25382858@N07/sets/72157650800239541/
 
The #6s are both Lodge; the Wagner with the small hang hole is the top to a double skillet set, larger than the #8 next to it because it was made to fit on a deep skillet with a larger top diameter. The #5 with the large spouts is an unknown hammered piece; the other an unmarked CHF or late Favorite. The footed kettle is an unknown, but the bottom mark being more sprue than gate puts it earlier than gate marked pieces, perhaps early to mid-1800s.
 
Wow Doug D., you've got good eyes! Thanks for the information. I didn't notice any hammered marks on that #5, so I will be surprised to see them once it's out of the bath. As for the kettle, is the long narrow line on the bottom not referred to as a gate mark? Perhaps you can explain what you see in terms of it's production. It's hard to tell in the photo but the blob above the "7" does appear to be a deformed "1", rather than a sprue funnel.
Thanks for maintaining such an obscure and useful forum!
 
Oh, yeah, there is a gate mark. I only looked at the closer photos. Mid- to late 1800s, then, probably.
 
A couple of nice scores there: Arc logo Lodge if undamaged is a great find. The FPW toy skillet looks nickel plated. How's the inside? Can you see any markings on that large skillet at 2 o'clock?
 
The large pan is one of the most encrusted I've encountered yet, but I pulled it out of the bath this afternoon to have a look. I'm not sure if I checked the 2 o'clock position, since I wasn't expecting anything there. There is a small stylized "2" with a long tail at the 6 o'clock position. It's a nice pan, and the cook surface is in great shape. Doug, I assume you have a early guess at what it might be?
The Favorite is plated, but it looks much more polished than other pieces I've seen. Plating is almost intact on the inside, but has come off in a pattern that follows the grinding swirls. The Wagner is also plated on the outside but not the inside. Plating is in excellent condition!
The corn pans cleaned up easily and were both filled with gluten-free banana bread batter to produce cute little "banana sticks"! They quickly disappeared! :glutton:
The Lodge arc is also in great shape and may just have to join my workforce!
 
Cleaned up the two Toys and they're both in really amazing shape. They'll be going up on eBay tonight, but you folks get early access to the nickel plated pony show.... 11 more pictures to the LEFT
DSCF7946 by Refinders, on Flickr
 
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