iron mountain = griswold?

[Roger Barfield]

Does anyone know the date range of Iron Mountain CI?

They were made in the 40's, I don't know the exact date range.

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]I don't know the exact range of production for Iron Mountain, but I have seen two sources that help narrow it down a bit.

First, in the blue book (pg 25 of the 5th edition,) there's a typewritten price list that shows "No Name Polished Ware" which is probably the Iron Mountain line.  It gives skillets sizes 3-10 + 12 & 14, DOs 7-10, the size 8 Chicken Pan, one plain size 8 trivet, and "Regular Griddles" (probably handle griddles) in sizes 8 and 9.  It's dated 5/5/1931. 

To see the second, you have to go looking through the old Kettles 'n Cookware newsletters, which are available for members in digital form somewhere on this forum.  Volume 7 no. 2 from Mar-Apr 1998 shows on pg 19 an illustrated advertisement that has all of the above, in addition to long griddles in sizes 7-11, optional trivets for all DO sizes, and optional skillet covers in sizes 7-10 only.  The ad has Griswold's name and logo, and refers to the line by the "Iron Mountain" name.  The KnC newsletter dates that ad to 1923.

So, provided that all dates are accurate, they were at least in existence as a full line by the early 1920's, and they were starting to be tapered off by the very early 1930s.[/size]

[Cheryl Watson]

[size=14]The No Name Polished Ware appears to be a separate line from the Iron Mountain Line.  As Far as I am aware..

A Griswold Catalog dated 3-1940 shows the Iron Mountain Line AND a different UNGROUND Cooking Utensil, Plain Cast Iron Line.   

Both lines were considered lower priced lines.
 
The UNGROUND line looks identical to the Iron Mountain Line but that line is NOT polished. 

Now to further complicate matters, the IRON MOUNTAIN Long Griddles were NOT POLISHED.  About as clear as Mud.

Neither Griswold Bulletin E-10 from 1926, nor Bulletin E-11 from May of 1932, shows the Iron Mountain nor the Unground, Plain Cast Iron Line, so I  do not know when these two lines were actually introduced. Someone else may stop by with additional information.

But the the "E" bulletins were called "Extra finished Holloware" which Iron Mountain and the Unground, Plain line were not.

Was one line produced before the other?  I don't know...

We do know they were both sold in 1940....  :)

And did NOT appear in February 1942 Catalog... so..

I'd say 1940's is a good 'general' dating.  :)

Now I did go out and do some searching, and I have found Newspaper advertisements for Griswold IRON MOUNTAIN in newspapers beginning in Feburary 1932 thru December of 1941

The only Good Health by Griswold ads that I found were from 1929 thru 1931.  <editting completed>

[/size]

[Adam Hoagland]

Neither Griswold Bulletin E-10 from 1926, nor Bulletin E-11 from May of 1932, shows the Iron Mountain nor the Unground Polished Line, so I would conclude that we do not know when these two lines were actually introduced.

[size=12]Then is the dating of the ad from the KnC newsletter I cited above a mistake?

The Good Health line isn't shown in any of the Griswold catalogue bulletins that I've seen, either, but you've seen more of them than I have.  If they intended Iron Mountain to be sold in general stores and hardware stores as a cheaper line, they may not have shown them in their regular catalogue bulletins from the 1920s and 1930s, but unless the 1923 ad isn't really from 1923, the "Iron Mountain" line did exist back that far, and was sold by Griswold with that name.

Also, if the "No-name Polished Ware" typed list in the blue book isn't the Iron Mountain line, then what is it?  I know that there are a few Good Health-like skillets out there that are unmarked but have the same p/ns as the Good Health equivalents, but they're few and far between, aren't they?  The fact that there is a chicken pan listed in with the "No-Name Polished Ware" list from the blue book where the Good Health line, to the best of my knowledge, never had one still makes me think that this list was for the Iron Mountain line in 1931, even though whomever typed it up didn't specifically call it that.  Why did the authors of the blue book put their listing for Iron Mountain skillets right beneath it on the same page if it isn't the same thing?[/size]

[Cheryl Watson]

[size=12]Then is the dating of the ad from the KnC newsletter I cited above a mistake? I am suspicious, don't know.

The Good Health line isn't shown in any of the Griswold catalogue bulletins that I've seen, either, but you've seen more of them than I have.  If they intended Iron Mountain to be sold in general stores and hardware stores as a cheaper line, they may not have shown them in their regular catalogue bulletins from the 1920s and 1930s, but unless the 1923 ad isn't really from 1923, the "Iron Mountain" line did exist back that far, and was sold by Griswold with that name. See my edits above :)

Also, if the "No-name Polished Ware" typed list in the blue book isn't the Iron Mountain line, then what is it?  Not Sure. Was it a totally unmarked Good Health line???
I know that there are a few Good Health-like skillets out there that are unmarked but have the same p/ns as the Good Health equivalents, but they're few and far between, aren't they? 

The fact that there is a chicken pan listed in with the "No-Name Polished Ware" list from the blue book where the Good Health line, to the best of my knowledge, never had one still makes me think that this list was for the Iron Mountain line in 1931, even though whomever typed it up didn't specifically call it that. 
Why did the authors of the blue book put their listing for Iron Mountain skillets right beneath it on the same page if it isn't the same thing? Possibly because that page was for miscellaneous differently marked/unmarked Griswold produced items?[/size]