The Ainge Tool & Engineering Company of Springfield, Ohio
A 1917 Springfield, Ohio tool stamp leads to George H. Ainge Tool, Die & Machine Works and an open research trail.
A.T. Nye & Son Lid Lifter
A worn A.T. Nye & Son cast iron stove lid lifter (SSC-NYE-TOOL-001) from Marietta, Ohio, traced to an 1828-1830 foundry founding.
Economy Stove Company of Cleveland Stove Tool
A cast iron combination stove wrench marked with two Economy Stove Co. Cleveland, Ohio brand names, traced to a documented 1906-1918 gas-range manufacturer.
The J. Peet Wax-Sealing Ladle: A Cincinnati Mark
A J PEET cast-iron wax-sealing ladle from Cincinnati, with a promising but unconfirmed lead tying the name to an 1886 stove-works superintendent.
Standard Churn Company of Wapakoneta, Ohio
A cast iron honey extractor drive unit from the Standard Churn Company of Wapakoneta, Ohio — a firm whose business records are held in the Smithsonian's Warshaw Collection — carries a rack-and-pinion gear mechanism, two iron frame-holder arms, and the marks THE STANDARD CHURN CO. / WAPAKONETA, OHIO. / PATENTED, plus the numbers 12 and 14 above the patent mark. This post explains what the piece actually is (most people won't recognize it on sight), documents what can be confirmed about the company, and lays out the open questions — including a still-unlocated patent number — for further research.
Cincinnati Galvanizing Co. King Seamless-Cup Press
A King Seamless-Cup Press marked CIN'TI GALV CO. — cast iron handle, seamless galvanized steel cup, and a Cincinnati firm with a sixty-five year documented history behind it. The Schott Brothers founded Cincinnati Galvanizing in 1905 out of their family cooperage, built a major Spring Grove Avenue plant in 1920, and produced the King Seamless potato ricer as one of their documented specialty products. The seamless cup wasn't a brand claim — it was an engineering solution. First Cincinnati Galvanizing piece in the SSC collection.
May & Fiebeger Heater Furnace Damper Dial Gauge
A cast iron furnace damper dial gauge marked MAY & FIEBEGER — CHECK — AKRON OHIO, still fully functional after more than a century. Turn the dial and the ports open and close exactly as Frank Fiebeger designed them. Behind this single piece of Akron iron: a family that crossed the Atlantic in 1850, forty years of hardware and foundry work, seven U.S. patents, and a product line certified by federal commercial standards into the 1944s. First documented May & Fiebeger piece in the SSC collection
Kilgore Cast Iron Dollhouse Dining Side Chairs
Two small green chairs from a Kilgore Mfg. Co. dollhouse furniture production run in Westerville, Ohio — cast iron, original paint, mold positions 15 and 26. What makes them extraordinary is where they spent the last seventy-plus years: in the childhood dollhouse of Leslie Rule, daughter of true crime author Ann Rule, and in storage with her mother's estate until 2026. Fully documented Ohio cast iron with a provenance no one else is telling.
The Peck-Williamson Co. Furnace Damper Control Plate
In the basement of every well-heated American home between 1890 and 1920, there was a coal furnace. Managing it meant managing the damper. The Peck-Williamson Co. of Cincinnati put their name, their city, and their product on a cast iron plate mounted on the face of the damper assembly — and the homeowner saw it every time they went down to tend the fire. This plate still has its original chain.