Need help with old pan

[Donna Manion]

I'm so happy to have this old "Wagner!"  I wanted to date it but cannot find it in either the RB or the BB.  The handle matches one and the marking matches another. 

It may be a while before I get it cleaned u since there's ice on my lye tub lid!  Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Russell Ware]

The Blue Book shows some Wagner handled round griddles with that style of markings (page 242). It states these griddles are circa 1892-1898. I would think the same would apply to your skillet.

[Donna Manion]

The Blue Book shows some Wagner handled round griddles with that style of markings (page 242). It states these griddles are circa 1892-1898. I would think the same would apply to your skillet.

Russell, when I look at the griddles on p. 242 (BB), the handles seem different from the handle on my skillet.  Is it possible my skillet was made during a transition from the "WAGNER" 1891-1910 and the "WAGNER" Sidney O 1900-1915 (page 10, RB)?

(Just fumbling around here, as I'm learning....)     :o

[Cheryl Watson]

I wouldn't focus on the handles... especially with Wagner... even on the skillets they seem to differ at will.

And comparing the handle on a skillet to a handle on a griddle... well that is apples and oranges, and never rarely an indicator for comparison.


The style of lettering of the Logo, etc should be the focal point, with the other things a maybe helpful, maybe not helpful indicator.

[Russell Ware]

Page 30 of the Red Book dates a shallow skillet like mine pictured here from 1891-1910. Handles styles differ depending on the product any way. This logo is the earliest for Wagner. I would expect the date range for your skillet to still be in the ranges given.

[Donna Manion]

Would the outside heat ring indicate a pan in the earlier part of that date range by chance?

[Russell Ware]

If you are familiar with ghost marking on skillets, you know that foundries had their patterns re-tooled to indicate new logos or pattern numbers. The actual markings are more indicative of dates than the physical style of the pan. One pattern could last quite a while depending on what it was made of or if it wasn't used that often.

[Donna Manion]

Well, I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes sense, of course.  Thanks!