Identifying a bean pot / dutch oven with molded in star on lid and base

[Greg Brinkmann]

I have acquired a flat bottom bean pot / dutch oven with a lid.

Both the lid (underside) and the base have a molded in 5 pointed star (see pictures).

A guy told me maybe Erie or earlier Griswold used these star molder marks but I would rather like to have some experienced voices take a look and comment on the pictures.

Many thanks!

Greg

 

[Doug D.]

These crop up from time to time, but I've never seen anything definitive as to a maker. And I'd be skeptical of anything repeated as fact on facebook. Some say the lid looks like Lodge, but it's not. There were older Erie skillets with a star maker's mark, as in the maker of the pattern (a molder's mark would be raised, not incised). Also of note is that, even for unmarked pieces like Iron Mountain, Griswold's products with few exceptions had pattern numbers on them. There are also older Wagner skillets with a star on them, but again, no correlation.

 

[Greg Brinkmann]

Thanks Doug. The guy who commented on the star was not a facebook guy - just a collector who - like me - was wondering what they could be.

I wondered about the pattern number also but figured the star was a more interesting "lead".

I know there are lots of lost or "forgotten foundries" out there so I'll count this to being one of those.

Thanks again.