Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 4 Cast Iron Skillet
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-WGNR-SKL-004
Cast Iron Skillet | No. 4 | Catalog No. 1054 | Heat Ring | Early Stylized Logo | Sidney, Ohio
c. 1924–early 1930s • Wagner Manufacturing Company • Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio
Interior cooking surface of the Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 4 skillet, showing the full 5¾-inch cooking floor, scalloped pour spouts on the rim, and the size mark '4' at the handle junction. The No. 4 is the smallest size in the standard Wagner skillet line to have been produced with a heat ring, and one of the more difficult sizes to acquire in the stylized logo era.
The Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 4 is a scarce size — acknowledged by collectors as one of the harder sizes to find in any configuration, and particularly so in the stylized logo heat-ring era. At 7 inches across the top rim it is small but fully functional: sized for individual portions, side dishes, and the smaller cooking tasks that a wood or gas stove cook would have assigned to the smallest pan that fit a single eye. It was produced continuously at Wagner from the foundry’s earliest years through the end of the collector era, in both heat-ring and smooth-bottom configurations.
This example, catalog number 1054, was acquired for the Steve’s Seasoned Classics museum collection in August 2025. It carries the stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at the standard 12 o’clock position — in the bold, large-format character that the Cast Iron Collector associates with the earlier end of the stylized logo catalog-number era — along with catalog number 1054 at 6 o’clock. The heat ring is present and intact. No pattern letter is clearly resolved in the seller photographs; this is consistent with early catalog-number production from approximately 1924 through the early 1930s, when pattern letter application on smaller sizes was less uniform. No MADE IN USA marking is present, confirming pre-1959 manufacture.
The No. 4 is the smallest size in the Wagner Ware Sidney -O- standard skillet line to have been produced with a heat ring. Below it, the No. 3 and No. 2 were produced without heat rings in the catalog-number era. The No. 4 therefore represents the lower boundary of the heat-ring configuration in the standard line — a distinction that, combined with its overall scarcity in the market, makes a well-preserved example with legible markings a meaningful acquisition for a complete set.
The No. 4: The Smallest Heat-Ring Size
Profile view of the No. 4 showing the 1½-inch sidewalls and the compact overall form. The heat ring is visible as the slight raised ledge at the base perimeter. The No. 4 is the smallest standard Wagner skillet size to carry a heat ring in the catalog-number era.
At 7 inches across the top rim and 5¾ inches at the cooking floor, the No. 4 is compact even by the standards of the smaller sizes in the Wagner line. It is smaller than the No. 5 by a full inch of top diameter, and proportionally deeper — its 1½-inch sidewalls give it a cooking bowl that holds heat and liquid well relative to its footprint. In the wood-stove era, the No. 4 would have sat comfortably on a smaller auxiliary eye, used for melting butter, warming a single portion, or cooking a small side dish while larger pans occupied the main eyes.
The No. 4 is the smallest size in the standard Wagner skillet line to have been produced with a heat ring. The No. 3 and No. 2 were produced without heat rings in the catalog-number era — those sizes apparently not requiring the stability feature, perhaps because their lighter weight made them less prone to displacement on the stove eye, or perhaps simply because the patterns for those sizes were designed or modified differently. The No. 4 is where the heat ring begins in the downward progression of the set.
Collectors note the No. 4 as a genuinely scarce find in any logo era. It does not appear with the frequency of the No. 6 or No. 8, and in the stylized logo heat-ring configuration it is rarer still. A piece with fully legible markings, a clean cooking surface, and no structural defects represents the kind of acquisition that takes patience to achieve and is worth specific documentation when it arrives.
The Bold Early Logo: Reading the Casting Character
Base of the No. 4 skillet showing the stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at 12 o'clock and catalog number 1054 at 6 o'clock. The bold, large-format character of the logo letterforms is characteristic of the earlier end of the stylized logo catalog-number era. Heat ring present. No pattern letter clearly resolved in this view.
The logo on this No. 4 is immediately readable as an early stylized logo piece. The letterforms are bold and pronounced — the looped W is larger and more open than in later examples, the SIDNEY and -O- below are correspondingly large and deeply incised. The Cast Iron Collector’s documentation of the Wagner trademark evolution notes that pieces with bolder, deeper-incised marking character are toward the earlier end of the stylized logo range. This observation applies to the No. 4 here: the casting has the confident, prominent mark of the earlier catalog-number era rather than the somewhat finer, more refined marking character of later smooth-bottom pieces.
No pattern letter is clearly resolved in the seller photographs. This is consistent with early catalog-number production. In the years immediately following the adoption of the four-digit numbering system in 1924, pattern letter application on smaller sizes was not always uniformly visible or consistently applied. Whether a pattern letter is present but not photographically resolved, or genuinely absent on this casting, cannot be confirmed without in-hand examination. The catalog number 1054 identifies the piece conclusively as a No. 4 regular skillet in the Wagner system; the pattern letter, if present, would further specify the mold pattern within that size.
Markings Analysis
Bottom profile of the No. 4 showing the heat ring and 1½-inch sidewall depth. The heat ring is well-defined and intact. The compact proportions of the No. 4 — the smallest heat-ring size in the standard Wagner line — are clearly visible here.
The heat ring on the base confirms pre-c.1935 manufacture. Wagner introduced smooth-bottom construction for the No. 4 around 1930–1935 as part of the general transition away from heat rings across the standard skillet line. The heat-ring No. 4 is the earlier of the two configurations and is generally considered the more difficult to find. No MADE IN USA marking is present, confirming pre-1959 collector-era manufacture. The combination of stylized logo at 12 o’clock, catalog number 1054, heat ring, and bold early logo character places this piece in the c. 1924–early 1930s window.
Handle
Handle detail of the No. 4. The size mark '4' is incised on the handle top near the junction with the pan body. The Wagner teardrop hanging loop at the terminus is intact and well-formed. The deep consistent seasoning is visible throughout the handle.
The main handle bears the incised size mark ‘4’ on the handle top near the junction with the pan body. The handle terminates in Wagner’s classic teardrop hanging loop — the open-eye form used across the Sidney -O- skillet line throughout the stylized logo era. The handle is intact with no cracks or losses and shows the consistent deep seasoning present throughout the piece.
Piece Details
Manufacturer
Wagner Manufacturing Company, Sidney, Ohio
Piece Type
Cast Iron Skillet
Form
Standard skillet with main handle, heat ring base, scalloped pour spouts. No assist handle — correct for No. 4.
Material
Cast Iron
Markings
Stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo (looped W) at 12 o'clock — bold, large early stylized logo character; catalog no. 1054 at 6 o'clock; no pattern letter resolved in photographs; '4' incised on handle top
Catalog Number
1054 — no pattern letter clearly resolved in seller photographs; consistent with early catalog-number production c. 1924–early 1930s when pattern letter application was less uniform
Logo Character
Bold, large-format stylized W — characteristic of the earlier end of the stylized logo era. The Cast Iron Collector notes that bolder, deeper-incised markings are associated with earlier catalog-number era pieces.
Logo Position
12 o'clock — standard high position
Size
No. 4 — Top diameter: 7 in. | Bottom diameter: 5 3/4 in. | Depth: 1 1/2 in.
Heat Ring
Yes — present; confirms pre-c.1935 manufacture
Made in USA Mark
Absent — confirms pre-1959 collector-era production
Logo Era
Stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- — High Position, Heat Ring, early catalog-number era (c. 1924–early 1930s)
Date of Manufacture
c. 1924–early 1930s
Place of Manufacture
Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio
Condition
Excellent — deep even seasoning throughout; cooking surface clean; heat ring intact; no cracks, no repairs; all markings legible
Acquisition Date
August 19, 2025
Acquisition Source
eBay — Seller: eauctionplace
eBay Item Number
277228109974
Order Number
16-13462-36111
SSC Catalog Number
SSC-WGNR-SKL-004
Collection Designation
Wagner Ware Sidney -O- Complete Skillet Set — No. 0 through No. 14
Corporate Timeline: Wagner Manufacturing Company
1891
Wagner Manufacturing Company founded in Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio. Smaller sizes including the No. 4 are among the earliest production.
c. 1914
'Wagner Ware' branding introduced on hollow ware.
c. 1922
Stylized 'W' logo introduced. Early examples feature the bold, large-format letterforms seen on this No. 4.
1924
Four-digit catalog numbering system adopted. No. 4 = catalog no. 1054. Earlier catalog-number pieces feature bolder, deeper-incised marking character than later examples.
c. 1930–35
Smooth-bottom construction introduced for sizes 4–12. The No. 4 was produced in smooth-bottom form; the heat-ring version (this piece) predates that transition.
c. 1930–40
Pie Logo variant produced — most collectible Wagner logo; approximately ten-year window.
1946–52
Wagner family divests. Company sold to Randall Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.
1957
Randall Wagner division acquires Griswold Manufacturing from McGraw-Edison.
1959
Textron acquires Randall. SIDNEY -O- removed from logo. Last year of collector-era production.
1999
Sidney foundry closes permanently after 108 years of production.
2022–23
Wagner Cast Iron relaunches with Wagner family guidance. Former Sidney foundry building demolished June 2023.
Why This Piece Matters
The Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 4 matters because it is the one that takes the most work to find. The No. 6 and No. 8 are everywhere. The No. 4 is not. Collectors pursuing a complete set acknowledge the No. 4 as one of the sizes that requires specific searching rather than casual opportunity, and in the heat-ring stylized logo configuration that scarcity is compounded. This example, with its bold early logo, its heat ring, its legible catalog number, and its clean condition, represents exactly the kind of deliberate acquisition that a complete set demands.
It matters as the lower boundary of the heat-ring configuration in the standard set. The No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12 all produced heat-ring examples in the catalog-number era. The No. 4 is where that downward progression stops. Below it, the No. 3 and No. 2 did not carry heat rings. The No. 4 is the smallest size in the SSC complete set to be documented with a heat ring, and its position in the display makes that boundary physically visible.
It matters because the bold early logo character visible on this piece is a direct artifact of the Sidney foundry in the years immediately following the adoption of the stylized W — a time when the mark was still being pressed into iron with the confident hand of a pattern newly cut, before the refinements and variations of later decades modified its character. The logo on this No. 4 looks the way the stylized W looked when it was new.
The iron endures. The markings tell the truth. The story deserves to be told.
Sources & Further Reading
Physical examination of piece: stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo (bold, large-format early character) at 12 o'clock; catalog no. 1054 at 6 o'clock; no pattern letter clearly resolved in seller photographs; size mark '4' on handle top; heat ring present; no MADE IN USA marking. Five seller photographs examined prior to acquisition.
The Cast Iron Collector (castironcollector.com) — Evolution of the Wagner Trademark; Numbers & Letters; Wagner Manufacturing Co. page. Reference for bold/deep-incised marking character as indicator of earlier catalog-number era production; No. 4 heat-ring and smooth-bottom configurations; catalog number formula.
Wagner Cast Iron (wagnercastiron.com/pages/story) — Official Wagner family history. Foundry founding, branding introduction, corporate ownership chain, foundry demolition 2023.
Wagner Cast Iron FAQ (wagnercastiron.com/pages/faq) — Catalog number formula: 1050 + size = catalog number for regular skillets.
Panman.com — Cast Iron Size and Capacity Charts (David G. Smith). No. 4 standard dimensions: top diameter 7 in., bottom 5 3/4 in., depth 1 1/2 in.
Cast Iron Collector Forums (castironcollector.com/forum) — Wagner Ware collecting thread. No. 4 noted as scarce; heat-ring configuration confirmed as the earlier of the two No. 4 variants.
The Book of Griswold & Wagner (Wallaces-Homestead / Krause Publications) — Standard collector reference volume.
eBay acquisition record — Order No. 16-13462-36111, seller: eauctionplace, August 19, 2025. Item: VINTAGE WAGNER WARE CAST IRON SKILLET #4 1054 Heat Ring COOKWARE.
SSC Internal Collection Records — Wagner Ware Sidney -O- Complete Skillet Set documentation. SSC-WGNR-SKL-004 is the smallest heat-ring size in the full-run No. 0 through No. 14 display set.
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.
