Help me ID this one? unmarked #9 with heat ring

[Nathan Flory]

Also shows "1" on bottom of handle as well as on bottom of cooking surface.

#9 on top of the handle

heat ring

[Nathan Flory]

Here is the handle

[Nathan Flory]

Wow! Looks like I stumped ya'll!  Or you're all mad at me. 

[John Arsenault]

Hard to say Nathan, might be unmark wagner? are there any ghosts or buttered out areas on the bottom?
John A

[Valerie Johnson]

The area where the handle attaches to the skillet is very distinctive(I copied and enlarged a bit) , Unfortunately there were many foundries that produced iron that will probably never be identifiable because they went out of business and never put a name on their iron.

Unique identifiers when looking at other known manufacturers for comparison
Reinforced lip
Outside heat ring
Distinctive underside of handle and where it attaches to skillet

The underside of the handle where it attaches to the skillet looks like it has been modified when the sand casting was made prior to pouring the iron.

[Nathan Flory]

I don't see any 'ghosting' per se.  There is an odd....maybe upside down question mark thingie at 12 o clock on the bottom if the handle is 6 o clock. 

I've attached another photo.

[Valerie Johnson]

That looks to me like a butter mark, sort of like when you use a knife to spread butter or icing it leaves a mark, hard to tell what was buttered over if anything

[Nathan Flory]

If you look careful at the bottom of that last photo there is a number "1".  Outside of the #9 on the handle, that's all I see for markings that were intended to be seen.

[Donna Manion]

Please explain "butter mark."     :o

[Valerie Johnson]

A butter mark is when something has been smoothed over or smoothed out, Say a Wagner Ware skillet is used as a mold to recast it and they didn't want the Wagner Ware logo to show on the new skillet they would first make the sand impression and smooth over the Wagner Ware logo with something so it was not visible. When this is done it leaves a distinctive mark

[Nathan Flory]

Thank you all for your help and information!  It's always fun learning about this stuff, the older and more mysterious, the better!

[Cheryl Watson]

[size=14]The buttering over would be done on a 'pattern'. 

For example:  Griswold and Wagner and others, would alter an original pattern by filling in the previous letters/numbers/ logo with a hard material, and then redo the 'new' markings that were desired.  Patterns were a big 'expense', so they would alter an existing 'pattern'.  With continued use of the 'modified patterns' making impressions in the sand molds, the sand would abrade those "buttered" over areas, over time, and hence, the 'ghosties' would emerge (previous markings).

If a Skillet was used to produce a Pattern, the same principle would apply, and the finished product would be 'smaller' than the original skillet used to make the 'pattern'.  :) [/size]

[Donna Manion]

Cool!  I just learned about buttering and ghosts at the same time! :)

[Nathan Flory]

You're welcome? I guess lolz

[Jeff McGrady]

What a coincidence, as I have the same skillet with a 7 on the top of the handle, and an 8 on the underside of the handle and on the base!

I had intended to post a picture of it to ask for help with ID, just as you have, but guess it will remain one of my unknowns     :(