The Bedrock: Arcole Iron Works Gypsy Pot
Pre 1905 Cast Iron, Ohio Cast Iron, Hollow Ware, SSC Museum Collection Steve Thaman Pre 1905 Cast Iron, Ohio Cast Iron, Hollow Ware, SSC Museum Collection Steve Thaman

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.

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J.H. Day & Co. Patented Safety Kettle with Fire Shield
Pre-1905 Collection, Ohio Cast Iron, Hollow Ware, SSC Museum Collection, Pre 1905 Cast Iron Steve Thaman Pre-1905 Collection, Ohio Cast Iron, Hollow Ware, SSC Museum Collection, Pre 1905 Cast Iron Steve Thaman

J.H. Day & Co. Patented Safety Kettle with Fire Shield

MADE ONLY BY. Four words cast into a hinged iron door mounted on the front of a Cincinnati hearth kettle, backed by two patents filed three years apart — 1874 and 1877. J.H. Day & Co. was not a stove works. They were an industrial machinery manufacturer who also invented a new way to manage fire around a kettle, protected it twice, and put their exclusivity claim in iron on every piece. This is the most complete example known: fire shield intact, hinged, latched, and operational after 150 years.

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