Unmarked Info

[Josh R]

Hello! I am newer to CI and would love some info on this. I finished stripping this piece and the only marking I found is a raised “WO” on the handle. I was curious of the possible brand, age, and quality of unmarked pieces with raised handle markings like this and why companies made some unmarked? Thank you for your help!

 

[SeanD]

Hard to tell from the pics, but is it deeper than other skillets? If so, its a Chicken Fryer of some sort. I would guess the raised letters are the person that cast the piece.

 

[Josh R]

I hadn’t thought of that, thank you! Here’s two more pictures from before the lye bath.

 

[Doug D.]

While some name brand companies purposely made unmarked pans, this one appears to be by a foundry large enough to pay its molders piecework, but too small to afford their own patterns, meaning they likely used an actual pan of another maker, filled in the markings, and made working patterns from it. The placement of the molder's mark(s) is unusual, but this pan, with a variety of letters, is seen often enough to confirm it's not a one off. My guess would be pre-1920s .

Why unmarked pans: https://www.castironcollector.com/unmarked.php

 

[Josh R]

Interesting, thank you so much for the information! I like to try and find out the history behind the pieces I buy so it’s good to know a rough age and explanation for why it’s unmarked. It’s the lightest and smoothest pan I’ve picked up but I also don’t have anything else that old.