Wapak Hollow Ware Company — No. 9 Cast Iron Flat-Bottom Kettle
The Wapak Hollow Ware Company of Wapakoneta, Ohio existed for just 23 years — from 1903 to 1926 — but in that span produced some of the finest lightweight cast iron in American manufacturing history. This No. 9 flat-bottom kettle, marked "WAPAK" in block letters, represents the company's workhorse product line: deep, straight-sided, flat-bottomed vessels built for daily stovetop use in early 20th-century Ohio kitchens. Professionally restored. Acquired from eBay seller golden_treats, January 2026.
Vitantonio Manufacturing Company — No. 5 Cast Iron Pizzelle Iron
Angelo Vitantonio founded his manufacturing company in 1906, bringing centuries of Italian baking tradition to Ohio. This No. 5 stovetop pizzelle iron — marked "VITANTONIO MFG CO / WILLOUGHBY, OHIO" — features a traditional four-quadrant Italian scroll pattern on one plate and a sunburst design on the other, with a field of tiny cast stars covering both exterior faces. Three generations of the Vitantonio family operated the company from Lake County, Ohio. Acquired from eBay seller ctryf26, November 2025.
Adamson Manufacturing Company — Cast Iron Tire Tube Vulcanizer
In the first decades of the automobile age, a flat tire was not an inconvenience — it was a certainty. This cast iron vulcanizer by the Adamson Manufacturing Company of East Palestine, Ohio, patented April 1913, allowed motorists and mechanics to permanently repair punctured inner tubes by heat-bonding raw rubber patches at the molecular level. Marked "ADAMSON MFG. CO. / PATENTED / APR 1913 / E. PALESTINE, O." Original patina preserved. Acquired from eBay seller funmoneyfromselling, March 2026.
Ober Manufacturing Company — Cast Iron Trivet / Sadiron Stand
A cast iron trivet from an 80-year Ohio village foundry. Ober Manufacturing Company of Chagrin Falls produced sadirons, trivets, and woodworking machinery from the 1870s onward. Marked "OBER / CHAGRIN FALLS • OHIO" — the founder's home now houses the local historical society.
The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co. — No. 0 Hand Torch
A cast iron hand torch from Cleveland's oldest foundry. The Taylor & Boggis Foundry Co., founded 1864, produced this No. 0 Hand Torch with original cap and wick intact. Full maker's mark identifies Cleveland, Ohio — a signature piece for the Cleveland's Forgotten Foundries collection.
Newman Brothers Inc. — The Last Supper Cast Iron Relief Plaque
A cast iron Last Supper relief plaque from one of Ohio's oldest foundries. Newman Brothers Inc. of Cincinnati has been casting metal since 1882. This high-relief devotional plaque carries the "NEWMAN BROS INC" maker's mark and extends the SSC's documentation into Cincinnati's decorative metalwork tradition.
Oneta No. 9 Cast Iron Skillet
If you couldn't afford Wagner, you bought Wapak. If you couldn't afford Wapak, you bought Oneta. Made in Wapakoneta — the town between Sidney and Piqua, Neil Armstrong's hometown — this budget skillet is now harder to find than the premium brands it once undercut. The cheap things get used up. The survivors are scarce.
Buckeye Iron & Brass Works 2” Fig. 671 Cleanout Cap
This cast iron cleanout cap was produced by Buckeye Iron & Brass Works of Dayton — the foundry the Wright Brothers walked into when they needed an aluminum crankcase for the engine that would fly at Kitty Hawk. Some of the best stories in American cast iron are not on skillets. They are on the workpieces that built the infrastructure.
The Madison Foundry Co. Enameled Mini Skillet Ashtray
Madison Foundry didn't make skillets. They made manhole covers. This mini skillet ashtray was their calling card — a promotional piece that sat on a city engineer's desk, catching ashes and advertising the Cleveland foundry that cast the iron beneath the city's streets. Five Cleveland foundries now in the SSC collection.
Superior Foundry Inc. Cast Iron Melting Scoop
Finding one piece from Superior Foundry is hard. Finding two is what happens when you know what to look for. This melting scoop carries the same Cleveland mark as the miniature bowl — and its original working patina tells the story of a tool that actually melted metal in a Cleveland workshop.
The Cleveland Foundry Co. Star & Sunburst Sad Iron Trivet
In 1888 they were casting trivets. By 1921 they were Perfection Stove Company. This star and sunburst trivet — patented 1891, just three years after the Cleveland Foundry Co.'s founding — is where one of America's great heating appliance brands began. Twelve dollars and fifty cents.
Foster Stove Company No. 8 Chicken Fryer
This deep-sided No. 8 chicken fryer from Foster Stove Company of Ironton, Ohio completes the Favorite corporate lineage in the SSC collection — from Columbus Hollow Ware through Favorite Piqua Ware, Miami, Puritan, and now Foster.
Ahrens & Arnold No. 3 Skillet — Wapakoneta Mark
Ahrens & Arnold operated in Wapakoneta, Ohio, for only a few years in the late 1920s — founded by former Wapak Hollow Ware employees after that foundry's closure, documented in almost no historical record, and known to collectors today through a handful of surviving pieces. This No. 3 cast iron skillet carries the full A&A marking layout in exceptional condition: the CAST · IRON · SKILLET arc with raised dot word separators, the AA arrow emblem, and the WAPAKONETA / OHIO. origin text with its characteristic terminal period — every authentication marker present and clearly legible. One of the rarest named makers in the American cast iron corpus, now documented in the SSC collection alongside its Wapak Indian Head No. 3 counterpart to tell the complete Wapakoneta story.
Wapak No. 3 Skillet — Indian Head Mark
Every Ohio foundry in the SSC collection marks its iron with text or geometry — an arc, a cartouche, a diamond. Wapak chose a face. The Indian Head medallion centered on this No. 3 base — a Native American figure in feathered headdress, cast in profile, surrounded by the company inscription — is the most visually distinctive mark in the Ohio foundry corpus. This No. 3 carries it in exceptional condition: headdress feather detail preserved, facial profile clear, inscription readable. It is the finest-condition marked piece in the SSC collection, the first Wapak entry, and the highest single-piece acquisition to date. Some iron earns its price