The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. — No. 0 Hand Torch
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-TB-TOR-00-001
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. | No. 0 Hand Torch | Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland’s Oldest Foundry • Founded 1864 • Gray Iron Castings & Builders’ Hardware
Detail view showing the full maker’s mark cast in raised block letters: “THE TAYLOR & BOGGIS / FOUNDRY CO / CLEVELAND. OHIO.” The casting quality and letter definition remain crisp after more than a century. The angled spout and cast loop handle are visible on either side.
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Company of Cleveland, Ohio was one of the city’s most significant industrial operations—and by some accounts, Cleveland’s oldest foundry. Founded by Harvey Taylor in 1864, the company grew into a major producer of gray iron castings, builders’ hardware, stove parts, and a wide range of utilitarian cast iron products that served American industry and households for over a century. This No. 0 Hand Torch is a product of that tradition: a small, purpose-built, oil-fueled fire starter cast in Cleveland iron, marked with the full company name and city, and still retaining its original threaded cap and cotton wick.
A hand torch of this type was an essential tool in the era before electric lighting and reliable matches. Filled with kerosene or whale oil, the torch provided a portable flame for lighting stoves, lamps, fireplaces, and outdoor fires. The “No. 0” designation indicates the smallest size in what was likely a numbered series of hand torches offered by Taylor & Boggis. The piece is compact—small enough to hold comfortably in one hand—with a tapered cylindrical body, an angled spout for the wick, a cast loop handle, and a threaded screw cap for filling. Every component of the original design is intact on this example, including the wick, which still protrudes from the spout.
For the SSC collection, this torch represents exactly the kind of piece the museum is built to document: a marked, utilitarian cast iron object from an Ohio foundry that most collectors would never associate with cast iron cookware. Taylor & Boggis was not a hollowware manufacturer—it was a general-purpose foundry that cast everything from door hardware to lawnmower parts to hand torches. But the iron is Cleveland iron, the marking is complete, and the story of the foundry is a Cleveland story worth preserving.
Piece Details
Profile view showing the complete hand torch with original cap, wick, handle, and spout. The “NO. 0 / HAND TORCH” marking is visible on the body. The original cotton wick extends from the angled spout. The threaded fill cap sits atop the cylindrical body. Original patina preserved throughout.
Manufacturer
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. (Cleveland, Ohio)
Piece Type
Cast iron hand torch (oil-fueled fire starter / portable flame)
Model
No. 0 Hand Torch
Material
Cast iron with lead or tin alloy screw cap
Marking (Side 1)
“THE TAYLOR & BOGGIS / FOUNDRY CO / CLEVELAND. OHIO.” cast in raised block letters
Marking (Side 2)
“NO. 0 / HAND TORCH” cast in raised block letters
Configuration
Cylindrical body tapering toward base; angled spout for wick; cast loop handle; threaded fill cap at top
Wick
Original cotton wick present, protruding from spout
Cap
Original threaded screw cap present at fill opening
Date of Manufacture
Estimated late 19th to early 20th century
Place of Manufacture
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Condition
Very Good — all markings crisp and fully legible on both sides; original cap and wick intact; original patina preserved; no cracks or structural damage; handle intact
Acquisition Date
November 30, 2025
Acquisition Source
eBay — Seller: pnpnpn
eBay Item Number
326881443196
Order Number
19-13893-55481
Purchase Price
$37.00 item + $13.70 shipping + $4.30 tax = $55.00 total
SSC Catalog Number
SSC-TB-TOR-00-001
Historical Background
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co.: Cleveland’s Oldest Foundry
The Taylor Foundry Company was founded by Harvey Taylor in Cleveland in 1864. In 1875, Taylor recruited Robert Boggis to join the company, at which point it became The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. The foundry specialized in gray iron castings—a type of cast iron with a graphitic microstructure that gives it good machinability, damping capacity, and wear resistance—and builders’ hardware. The company’s product line expanded over the decades to include door locks, keys, stove parts, lawnmower components, hand torches, and a wide variety of utilitarian castings.
The company’s history was marked by growth, innovation, and repeated catastrophe. Taylor & Boggis suffered multiple devastating fires: an 1883 fire caused approximately $60,000 in damages, and a 1906 fire destroyed the plant along with the adjacent H.C. Tack Company. Each time, the foundry rebuilt. After the 1906 fire, the company constructed a new 50,000-square-foot plant on East 71st Street between Quincy and Woodland Avenues in Cleveland. In 1912, a further expansion produced what trade publications described as a model of modern foundry design.
View showing the “NO. 0 / HAND TORCH” product designation cast into the body opposite the maker’s mark. The “No. 0” indicates the smallest size in what was likely a numbered series of hand torches. The threaded fill cap and cast loop handle are visible.
Francis Edson Drury and the Lawnmower Connection
One of the most notable figures in Taylor & Boggis history was Francis Edson Drury, who moved to Cleveland in 1870 and arranged for the foundry to manufacture his invention—the first internal gear lawnmower. Drury rose to become vice president and general manager of Taylor & Boggis. He later co-founded the Cleveland Foundry Company to manufacture oil heating and cooking stoves, which eventually became the Perfection Stove Company—at one point the largest manufacturer of its kind in the world. Drury’s fortune, built in part on his Taylor & Boggis years, funded some of Cleveland’s most important cultural institutions, including the Cleveland Play House and the Cleveland Orchestra.
The Hand Torch: A Pre-Electric Essential
Before reliable electric ignition, before safety matches became cheap and ubiquitous, the hand torch was a standard household and industrial tool. A small cast iron vessel with a wick and a fill cap, the hand torch was designed to hold a reservoir of kerosene, whale oil, or other combustible liquid and provide a portable, controllable flame on demand. Uses ranged from lighting woodstoves and fireplaces to igniting outdoor bonfires, to providing temporary illumination in barns, basements, and workshops. The cast iron body was fireproof, the screw cap prevented spills, and the angled spout directed the flame away from the user’s hand.
Taylor & Boggis produced these torches as part of its general hardware line—a utilitarian product cast alongside door locks, keys, and stove parts. The “No. 0” designation suggests this was the smallest size offered, likely intended for household use rather than industrial applications. The survival of both the original cap and wick on this example is notable; these consumable components were typically the first parts to be lost or replaced over a century of use.
Reverse angle showing the full form of the hand torch with “THE TAYLOR & BOGGIS / FOUNDRY CO / CLEVELAND OHIO” marking visible on the body. The tapered cylindrical form, angled spout, and cast handle demonstrate the practical design of this pre-electric fire-starting tool.
SSC Collection Context
This hand torch is a signature addition to the SSC’s Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries thematic grouping. Taylor & Boggis was Cleveland’s oldest foundry—operating from 1864 through various corporate iterations until the T&B Foundry declared bankruptcy in 2012. The company’s 148-year history spans virtually the entire arc of American industrial casting, from the Civil War era through deindustrialization. This hand torch, with its complete markings, original components, and preserved patina, is a tangible connection to that history.
The piece also demonstrates the SSC’s expanded collection mandate: any marked cast iron from an Ohio manufacturer, regardless of category. A hand torch is not cookware. It is not a skillet or a Dutch oven or a waffle iron. But it is cast iron, it was made in Cleveland, Ohio, and it carries the maker’s full identification. For the SSC’s documentary mission, that is sufficient. The collection tells the story of Ohio’s cast iron heritage in all its forms—from the kitchen to the workshop to the barn to the front porch where someone needed a flame.
The iron endures. The markings tell the truth. The story deserves to be told.
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. — Company Timeline
1864
Harvey Taylor founds the Taylor Foundry Company in Cleveland, Ohio, manufacturing gray iron castings.
1875
Robert Boggis joins the company, which becomes The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. The foundry produces gray iron castings and builders’ hardware from its Cleveland facility.
1870s–1900s
Taylor & Boggis establishes itself as a major Cleveland foundry producing a wide range of cast iron products including builders’ hardware, keys, locks, stove parts, hand torches, and industrial castings. Francis Edson Drury, inventor of the internal gear lawnmower, joins the firm and rises to vice president and general manager.
1883
A fire causes approximately $60,000 in damages to the foundry—one of several fires that would plague the company throughout its history.
1906
Another fire destroys the Taylor & Boggis plant and the adjacent H.C. Tack Company, with combined losses of $20,000. The company subsequently builds a new 50,000-square-foot plant on East 71st Street between Quincy and Woodland Avenues.
1911
Company president Robert H. Boggis dies from complications of pneumonia. Taylor & Boggis purchases land near East 55th Street for a new foundry and power plant.
1912
New modern foundry completed. Trade publications describe the “Layout and Construction of a Modern Foundry” and the “Taylor-Boggis New Foundry at Cleveland.”
1969
Oglebay Norton Company acquires Taylor & Boggis and its affiliates.
1993
Taylor & Boggis spun off as T&B Foundry.
2012
T&B Foundry declares bankruptcy. The site is eventually left vacant.
2025
Steve’s Seasoned Classics acquires this No. 0 Hand Torch from eBay seller pnpnpn. The piece is documented as SSC-TB-TOR-00-001.
Why This Piece Matters
The Taylor & Boggis No. 0 Hand Torch is a piece of Cleveland industrial history that you can hold in your hand. It was cast by a foundry that operated in the same city for 148 years, survived multiple fires, manufactured the first internal gear lawnmower, and employed craftsmen whose work ended up in homes and workshops across the country. The foundry that made this torch also trained the man who built the Perfection Stove Company and funded the Cleveland Play House. The connections radiate outward from a small piece of cast iron.
What makes this example exceptional is its completeness. The original cap is still threaded onto the fill opening. The original cotton wick still protrudes from the spout. The markings on both sides—the maker’s name and the product designation—are crisp and fully legible. The original patina has been preserved, not stripped or restored. This is the piece as it left the foundry, minus the kerosene and the flame. It is a time capsule from an era when fire was not a switch on a wall but a skill, a tool, and a daily necessity—and Cleveland’s oldest foundry made the tool that provided it.
Sources & Further Reading
Abandoned Online — Taylor & Boggis Foundry: comprehensive history including founding, fires, plant construction, acquisition by Oglebay Norton, and eventual bankruptcy.
Cleveland Historical (Case Western Reserve University) — Francis Edson Drury entry: details on Drury’s role at Taylor & Boggis and the lawnmower invention.
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History — Francis Edson Drury: confirms Drury’s vice presidency at Taylor & Boggis and subsequent founding of Cleveland Foundry Company.
Flickr/Flickriver — Taylor and Boggis Foundry photographs and historical notes: founding date, plant locations, and gray iron casting specialization.
Antique Hardware Company — Taylor & Boggis Foundry product listings: confirms Cleveland location and builders’ hardware product line.
eBay listing and invoice documentation — Item 326881443196, Order 19-13893-55481.
About Steve’s Seasoned Classics
Steve’s Seasoned Classics is an online museum dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of American cast iron, with a focus on Ohio foundry pieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The SSC collection features over 130 pieces with detailed provenance, historical research, and photography for each item.
