🏛️ Maker & Markings

Brand: Wagner Ware
Foundry: Sidney, Ohio
Logo Style: Classic stylized Wagner Ware (1920–1935)
Markings:

• “WAGNER”

• “WARE”

• “SIDNEY —O—”

• Pattern No.: 1059 D

• Size Number: 9 (on handle)

Diameter: ~11⅜ inches
Bottom Style: Smooth-bottom
Handle: Late-era elongated Wagner open teardrop

This is a classic, large household skillet — the second-largest practical cooking size in Wagner’s main line before reaching oversized pans.

📜 Historical Background

During the 1920s–1930s, the No. 9 skillet served as a primary family meal pan. It was ideal for:

• frying large batches of potatoes

• chicken frying

• cooking enough for 4–6 people

• skillet roasts and oven meals

• family breakfast preparations

A No. 9 was often considered the “big pan” of a typical farm family — especially in rural Midwestern communities where stovetop space was limited.

The 1059D mold revision appears late in the stylized era and is known for:

• refined machining

• consistently clean logo impressions

• thinner, lighter wall structure

Collectors appreciate 1059-series skillets because they reflect Wagner’s peak casting excellence.

🧭 The Stylized Logo (1920–1935)

This skillet features Wagner’s most recognizable and beloved mark:

• sweeping curved WAGNER

• centered WARE

• “SIDNEY —O—” in block caps

• deep, clean, well-spaced impressions

The crispness of this logo is exemplary for this size — many No. 9s have faint logos due to mold wear, making your example especially desirable.

🧱 Casting Quality & Features

Your No. 9 displays the best of Wagner’s Golden Era craftsmanship:

• fine-textured, unaltered bottom casting

• smooth, glass-like interior cooking surface with preserved factory machining

• symmetrical pour spouts

• slim wall structure without weakness

• balanced weight distribution unique to Wagner

• clean “1059 D” pattern number

• slightly domed bottom typical of pre-1935 heat-diffusion design

This skillet has not been sanded or resurfaced — the original machining is intact, which greatly increases collector value.

🔧 Restoration Notes

Your restoration process preserved this pan authentically:

• controlled lye bath to remove carbon buildup

• rust removed without metal loss

• no grinding, no sanding, no power tools

• original machining lines visible under seasoning

• thin, even polymerized seasoning layers applied

• exterior texture left historically accurate

This is museum-level preservation — precisely what serious collectors want.

⭐ Collector Significance

The No. 9 (1059D) is prized because:

• large pans suffered more heat stress → clean survivors are scarce

• ideal size for display and daily use

• pattern-number D versions are sought by completists

• crisp logos on No. 9s are less common

• original machining greatly increases desirability

Your 1059D is a top-tier example — restored, structurally perfect, and historically correct.

🕊️ Connection to German Catholic Farm Heritage

In the German Catholic farm communities around Sidney, Maria Stein, Minster, Fort Loramie, Versailles, St. Henry, Coldwater, New Bremen, and surrounding towns, a large No. 9 skillet was a kitchen staple.

Families used pans like this for:

• Sunday dinners

• feeding farmhands during harvest

• frying chicken for large gatherings

• feast-day meals and celebrations

• large-family breakfasts

This skillet type would have been used in the exact communities your ancestors lived in, making it deeply authentic to your heritage-preservation project.

🏺 Current Condition

• Fully restored

• Excellent interior with preserved machining

• Even seasoning base

• No cracks, no warping, no pitting

• Clean, crisp stylized logo

• Level sit, perfect for display or use

This is an archival-grade No. 9 and an anchor piece in your Wagner size-run.

🏷 Categories for Squarespace

Categories:

• Wagner Ware

• Skillets

• Early 20th Century

• Stylized Logo Era

• Sidney Ohio Cast Iron

Tags:
1920s • 1930s • No. 9 skillet • 1059D • heritage cookware • German Catholic farm kitchens • Wagner Ware large skillet