Ohio Stove Co. “Pearl” No. 7 Sad Iron Long Pan
Before the electric iron, there was the sad iron — and this Pearl No. 7 long pan from Ohio Stove Co. of Portsmouth was where you heated them. Gate marked, dating to the company's founding years around 1872, from a foundry still pouring iron 150 years later.
H. Wells & Bro. Extra Large Cast Iron Tea Kettle
1867. Two years after the Civil War. In Ohio's oldest settlement — a town that sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad — the Wells brothers cast this tea kettle and stamped it with the date. No other record of their foundry survives. The iron is the testimony.
Shinnick Hattan & Co. No. 9 Cast Iron Kettle
June 23, 1863. Ten days before Gettysburg. Confederate cavalry threatening eastern Ohio. And in a Zanesville foundry, Shinnick Hattan & Co. cast this kettle and stamped it with the date. The oldest piece in the SSC collection — and its crown jewel.
Marion Stove Co. Cast Iron Stove Lid Lifter
Marion Stove Co. was born in Sidney, Ohio in 1855 — and when it left for Indiana, a Marion man stayed behind to help build Wagner Ware. This lid lifter retains its original nickel plating, a surface that must never be disturbed.
The Colonial Iron Works Co. Trade Mark Plaque
A cast iron trade mark plaque from The Colonial Iron Works Co. of Cleveland, Ohio — a conveyor systems manufacturer so thoroughly erased from the historical record that this plaque may be among the only surviving evidence the company existed. The inaugural piece in SSC's "Cleveland's Forgotten Foundries" collection.
Brooks & Patton No. 9 Tea Kettle
A rare No. 9 tea kettle from Brooks & Patton of Columbus, Ohio — the foundry whose principal, Alexander G. Patton, later acquired the Columbus Hollow Ware Company. SSC documents the piece that bridges two chapters of Columbus cast iron history.
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.