The Bedrock: Arcole Iron Works Gypsy Pot
In 1834, the Arcole Iron Works in Madison Township, Ohio was the largest industry in the state — producing 1,500 tons of iron annually, sustaining a port community larger than Cleveland. This gypsy pot carries the W.S. & Co. mark of the Wilkeson and Seeley partnership that ran the foundry during those peak years. The mark has worn with 190 years of honest existence. It is still there. Most people who collect cast iron will never hold one of these in their lifetime.
Cast Iron Posnet — “D.O.-52” Marking
A small cast iron posnet marked "D.O.-52" — three legs, a hanging loop, and a marking nobody can identify. SSC documents this hearth-era mystery piece in full detail and invites the collector community to help solve it.
Pre-Logo Era No. 8 Flat Skillet — Gate Scar, Unattributed
The gate scar is the oldest mark in the SSC collection. Not a logo, not a brand — the physical remnant of the casting process itself: the raised diagonal ridge left when the iron that filled the gate was broken away after the pour. American foundries of the mid-to-late 19th century tolerated visible gate scars in a way the branded era did not. By the time Favorite Piqua Ware was stamping Smiley cartouches into its bases, the gate scar was already a relic. This No. 8 flat skillet, with its fancy twist handle and figure-8 loop, predates every other piece in the SSC collection — and it belongs here.