Favorite Piqua Ware — No. 5 Cast Iron Skillet (Smiley Logo)
In the city of Piqua, Ohio — a small manufacturing center in Miami County about 30 miles north of Dayton — the Favorite Stove & Range Company operated for nearly half a century as one of the community's largest employers. This No. 5 skillet bears the company's beloved "Smiley" logo, a heat ring for wood or coal stove use, and the pattern letter "B" identifying its specific foundry mold. Acquired from eBay seller rilke3, August 2025.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 8A Skillet — Smiley / Miami Dual Logo
The No. 8 is where every Favorite Piqua Ware collection begins — the workhorse size, the most produced, the most familiar. This one carries something the standard No. 8A doesn't: the dual-logo configuration, with the Smiley cartouche above and the Miami diamond below, both cast on the same base. Acquired as a provenance-linked pair with the companion No. 7, it confirms that the dual marking crossed at least two sizes from the same foundry period. It also surfaces a detail the No. 7 alone couldn't reveal: the Miami diamond frame on this No. 8A is single-outline, while the No. 7's is double — a variation that raises questions the iron documents but doesn't yet answer.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 7 Skillet — Smiley / Miami Dual Logo
Most Favorite Piqua Ware collectors know the Smiley logo. Fewer have held a piece that carries two marks — the Smiley cartouche above and the Miami diamond below, both cast into the same base, from the same foundry, on the same pour. This No. 7 is one of those pieces. The dual configuration documents something the single-logo specimens cannot: the moment where Favorite Stove & Range's parallel brand identities intersected, and the commercial logic that put two names on one skillet didn't fully resolve before the iron cooled.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 8A Skillet
A museum-quality look at the most popular size in Favorite Piqua Ware's lineup — the No. 8A Smiley Logo skillet, cast from the first working pattern in Piqua, Ohio between 1916 and 1935. Includes original research on the pattern letter system, quality control in American foundries, and why the No. 8 was the skillet that defined the brand.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 7 Skillet
A museum-quality study of a Favorite Piqua Ware No. 7 Smiley Logo skillet featuring a rare double dot molder's mark — a foundry worker's personal signature pressed into the sand mold before the iron was poured. Includes original research on molder's marks, piecework payment systems, and the human labor behind American cast iron manufacturing.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 6 Skillet
A museum-quality look at one of Favorite Piqua Ware's scarcer sizes — the No. 6 Smiley Logo skillet, cast in Piqua, Ohio between 1916 and 1935. Includes the full history of the Favorite Stove & Range Company, collector pricing context, and why this less common size commands a premium among serious collectors.
Favorite Piqua Ware No. 3 Skillet
A museum-quality look at one of Favorite Stove & Range Company's most collectible pieces — the No. 3 Smiley Logo skillet, cast in Piqua, Ohio between 1916 and 1935. Includes the full history of the company from its 1848 Cincinnati origins through its move to "The Favorite City," logo identification, and detailed markings analysis.