Lake City Malleable Co. No. 5 Lead Casting Ladle
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-LAKECITY-LDL-1920-001
Lake City Malleable Co. No. 5 Lead Casting Ladle
No. 5 Casting Ladle | Dual Pour Spouts | Cleveland, Ohio
Circa 1920s–1940s • The Lake City Malleable Co.
Handle marking (underside): “CLEVELAND, OHIO” cast along the handle with a size numeral “5” at the bowl junction. Dual pour spouts at opposing positions on the bowl rim. The ladle’s deep hemispherical bowl and robust handle are characteristic of industrial casting ladles designed for pouring molten lead or other metals.
Cleveland, Ohio earned its nickname “The Lake City” from its position on the southern shore of Lake Erie—and the Lake City Malleable Company took that identity and cast it into iron. This No. 5 lead casting ladle carries the company’s full name on one side of its handle and “CLEVELAND, OHIO” on the other, marking it as unmistakably as any piece in the SSC collection. It is an industrial tool—a ladle designed for pouring molten lead or other low-melting-point metals into molds—and it represents a layer of Cleveland’s manufacturing heritage that most cast iron collectors never encounter.
Lake City Malleable was a Cleveland foundry that produced a range of cast metal products: kitchen utensils, industrial ladles, and—in a characteristically early-twentieth-century touch—advertising premiums like cast metal flamingo figurines and greyhound sculptures given by company salesmen to prospective customers. The flamingo became something of a company mascot, with surviving examples from the 1920s bearing the company’s name and Cleveland address on their bases. The company’s product range, from utilitarian casting ladles to decorative figurines, speaks to the versatility of a Cleveland foundry that could handle both workaday industrial production and precision decorative casting.
For the SSC collection, this ladle extends the “Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries” thematic grouping with another Cuyahoga County manufacturer. Lake City Malleable joins Madison Foundry Co., Superior Foundry Inc., and Cleveland Foundry Co. in SSC’s documentation of Cleveland’s industrial cast iron heritage—a heritage that is easily overshadowed by the city’s better-known steel, automotive, and petroleum industries but that produced marked, datable iron that survives as the primary physical record of dozens of now-defunct foundry operations.
Piece Details
Handle marking (top side): “THE LAKE CITY MALLEABLE CO.” cast along the full length of the handle. The deep hemispherical bowl shows dual pour spouts at opposing positions. Handle terminates in a hanging hole.
Manufacturer The Lake City Malleable Co.
Piece Type Lead / Metal Casting Ladle
Size Number No. 5
Material Cast Iron (malleable)
Marking (Handle, Top) THE LAKE CITY MALLEABLE CO.
Marking (Handle, Bottom) CLEVELAND, OHIO / 5
Pour Spouts Dual opposing spouts on bowl rim
Handle Flat integral handle with hanging hole at terminus
Date of Manufacture Circa 1920s–1940s (estimated)
Place of Manufacture Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Condition Very Good — legible markings on both sides of handle; intact bowl with no cracks; dual spouts clean; original surface patina
Acquisition Date November 28, 2025
Acquisition Source eBay — Seller: danisgreenergrass
eBay Item Number 197628154533
Order Number 12-13892-68653
Purchase Price $31.99 item + $12.99 shipping + $3.81 tax = $48.79 total
SSC Catalog Number SSC-LAKECITY-LDL-1920-001
What a Casting Ladle Does
A casting ladle is the simplest and most essential tool in metalworking: a heat-resistant vessel for scooping and pouring molten metal. This No. 5 ladle was designed for lead casting—melting lead in a pot, scooping a measured quantity with the ladle, and pouring it through one of the two spouts into a mold. The dual spout configuration allowed the operator to pour from either side, and the deep hemispherical bowl provided capacity for a substantial pour while keeping the center of gravity low. The flat handle with hanging hole at the terminus was long enough to keep the operator’s hand away from the heat source and sturdy enough to support the weight of a full bowl of molten metal.
Lead casting ladles were ubiquitous in early-twentieth-century workshops, plumbing operations, and small foundries. Lead was used for plumbing joints, bullet casting, fishing sinkers, printing type, battery terminals, and dozens of other applications that required pouring molten metal at relatively low temperatures (lead melts at 621°F). The ladle was the tool that made all of those operations possible at the workbench scale—no industrial equipment required, just a heat source, a pot of lead, and a ladle with a good pour.
Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries: The Lake City Malleable Co.
Cleveland’s industrial history is typically told through steel (Republic, Jones & Laughlin), automobiles (White Motor, Peerless, Winton), and petroleum (Standard Oil). But beneath those headline industries, Cleveland supported dozens of smaller foundry operations that produced the cast metal components, tools, and utensils that the larger industries and the consumer market required. Lake City Malleable was one of these: a Cuyahoga County foundry producing malleable iron castings for industrial and consumer use, marking its products with the city’s name, and—if the surviving advertising premiums are any guide—marketing them with a flair that went beyond the purely utilitarian.
The company’s flamingo figurines, produced as salesmen’s gifts in the 1920s, are among the more distinctive pieces of Cleveland industrial ephemera. That a malleable iron foundry producing casting ladles and kitchen utensils also produced elegantly detailed flamingo and greyhound figurines as calling cards tells you something about how Cleveland’s foundry operators thought about their businesses: they were craftsmen as well as manufacturers, and they understood that the quality of their decorative work advertised the quality of their industrial work.
Historical Context: Lake City Malleable Co.
c.1900s–10s The Lake City Malleable Co. established in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The company name references Cleveland’s historic nickname “The Lake City,” derived from its position on Lake Erie.
1920s Lake City Malleable produces cast metal advertising premiums including flamingo figurines and greyhound sculptures, given by company salesmen to customers. These pieces carry the company name and “Cleveland Ohio” on their bases.
1929 A cast iron greyhound sculpture by F. Chahey, produced by Lake City Malleable, is dated to this year—confirming active production at the end of the decade.
1920s–40s The company’s product range includes industrial casting ladles (like this No. 5), kitchen utensils, and decorative metalwork. The ladle line is produced in multiple sizes.
c.1941 An Audubon flamingo print distributed by Lake City Malleable Co. is dated to approximately 1941, indicating the company remained active into the early 1940s.
2025 Steve’s Seasoned Classics acquires this No. 5 casting ladle from eBay seller danisgreenergrass, documenting it as SSC-LAKECITY-LDL-1920-001 and adding it to the Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries grouping.
Why This Piece Matters
The Lake City Malleable No. 5 casting ladle adds a new manufacturer to the Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries grouping and extends the SSC collection’s documentation into a product category—industrial casting tools—that sits at the very foundation of the metalworking trades. This is not cookware. This is not decorative iron. This is a tool that was used to pour molten metal, and it was made by a Cleveland foundry that cast its city’s name into the handle so that every workshop and plumbing operation that used it knew where it came from.
The SSC collection’s “Cleveland’s Forgotten Foundries” grouping now includes manufacturers spanning from cookware (Cleveland Foundry Co.) to industrial tools (Lake City Malleable) to agricultural equipment. Together, these pieces document a layer of Cleveland’s industrial base that produced marked, datable iron—iron that survives when the foundries themselves, their records, and their workers are gone. The ladle is the evidence. The marking is the testimony. Cleveland made this, and the SSC collection keeps the record.
The iron endures. The markings tell the truth. The story deserves to be told.
Sources & Further Reading
WorthPoint.com — Lake City Malleable Co. flamingo figurine listing: documents the company as a Cleveland, Ohio manufacturer of metal kitchen utensils and advertising premiums, active in the 1920s.
eBay historical listings — Lake City Malleable casting ladles (multiple sizes) and 1929 greyhound figurine by F. Chahey: confirm Cleveland, Ohio production and product range.
Kaufman Realty & Auctions — Lake City Malleable Co. Cleveland OH cast iron ladle auction record: confirms ladle production attributed to the company.
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.
www.stevesseasonedclassics.com
