Howdy folks!
Today at the flea market I think I found the buy of the day, this beautiful gate marked stew pot, about a size 9 or 10 or so for the princely sum of $1. It was painted grey on the outside and is well seasoned, no cracks, rust or pits anywhere on it. It has two gate marks on the bottom but still sits pretty flat. This was used for cooking, not a planter! It looks like there may be a name on the bottom under the paint, and I've put it in the lye to see if the gunk on the bottom will come off. I'm guessing it dates to around the 1920's, give or take a decade. Does anyone recognize the form? Can anyone put a name and date on this? The handles are rather simple and it's quite light for its size.
I hesitate to call it a DO, because there doesn't seem to be any provision for a bail. If you put one on those handles, it would rapidly dump the contents when it shifted to one side. It does look like there may have been a matching lid at one time, though judging by the seasoning that has been long out of the picture.
