Dayton Malleable Iron Co. Patented Smelting Ladle

The Dayton Malleable Iron Co. would go on to employ 1,500 workers and rank among the world's top malleable iron firms. This ladle is from 1871 — year five, the original East Third Street plant, one year before the big expansion. They cast their name in iron on it and patented the loop handle design. That's the whole story in miniature: a company at the beginning of something very large, putting their mark on a tool built to survive the heat.