1st Series UNMARKED ERIE #12 ? Scooped Handle Help Needed to ID

[Dan Tinsley]

Trying to ID this unmarked #12 with the first series ERIE scooped handle and all the other early ERIE caricatures from that period. Was wondering if anyone has seen any early unmarked ERIE pans ?

[Dan Tinsley]

I would have thought someone on this site would have had some information about unmarked ERIE pans, maybe not.

[Cheryl Watson]

There is no such thing as an Unmarked Erie....

[Cheryl Watson]

Once/if the skillet is cleaned/restored, 'maybe' some further markings will be visible... I am seeing some sort of undecipherable ghosting at the top (bottom of skillet)... 

[George Gardner]

Dimensions of your skillet might be helpful, as well.  Many, many, many other foundry's used ERIE skillets as the pattern to mold their own line of skillets.  Those skillets will measure slightly smaller than a true original ERIE skillet and a lot of those "recasts" will also show a ghost mark as Cheryl mentioned.

[Cheryl Watson]

Hey George!!  HELLO!  Long time no see!   :)
Thanks for the assist... ;)

[Dan Tinsley]

Thanks George & Cheryl I am familiar with recasts and the ghost marks etc. I am new to this site but not cast iron cookware. This pan measures exactly the same as the # 12 ERIE 3rd series in photo. There is no difference at all. There isn't any ghost marks which would show up after cleaning and I don't clean a pan like this if not necessary.
All in all it's my humble opinion this pan left the factory unmarked. Just a question of who's factory.

[Cheryl Watson]

 Well now, that may be a bit like comparing apples and oranges....

Comparing a scoop handled style (1st Series Erie) with a 3rd Series Erie  ... not really validating anything.....  and there is more than one type of scoop handle design (slight variation)....

http://www.wag-society.org/guest/Erie_Skillet_Article.htm


The style and design was widely copied by other manufactures back in that time frame.....

So unmarked =  unknown maker.

Griswold was meticulous about marking all their products in the ERIE era.... and advertised that fact... :)

[Jeff Friend]

Dan,

Your humble opinion is fact.  Other than the 12, that skillet did leave the manufacturer unmarked, so we will probably never know who made it.  Roy is the person to ask if he thinks Griswold made any skillets without the "ERIE" cast onto the bottom.  My opinion is that they did not.  Something else to keep in mind that pattern shops worked for multiple foundries.  I think it is also a reasonable theory that old patterns were acquired by other manufacturers.

Jeff

[Dan Tinsley]

Jeff

Thank you for your thoughts. I was hoping that Roy might chime in on the subject just to get his opinion. I too doubt that Griswold ever made any unmarked items but I do understand that unfinished ( unmarked, or flawed ) pans or other items made there way home with some factory workers for their own personal use.

[Jeff Friend]

Yes, it is possible, even probable, that employees took "seconds" home.  But they would have been marked with ERIE like all of the other pieces that were coming out of the foundry.  The only way (see note below) an an ERIE skillet left the Griswold foundry without ERIE on it was if the pattern did not have ERIE on it.  And I have never seen any evidence that this occurred. 

Note - The only way to make an ERIE skillet that did not have ERIE cast onto the pan, and using Griswold's patterns, would be for the molder to obliterate the ERIE when finishing the mold.  We know that molders had to touch up the green sand molds from time to time because there are special tools molders had at their disposal just for this task.  So this would be the opportunity to remove the ERIE from the mold.  This is certainly possible, but why?  Even if this was what happened, I suspect that there would be some evidence in the casting of the molder's hand at work.

[Roy G. Meadows]

I am not aware of any unmarked ERIE's made by Griswold. The Unmarked VICTOR Series that was made in c1910's to c1930's? at least had pattern numbers on them. If it turns out the skillet posted by Dan Tinsley has exactly the same dimensions as a #12 First Series ERIE, my guess is that some other foundry filled in a Griswold pattern that was either new or used. When done very carefully and before the filling material has eroded, the ghost are not perceptible in the skillet.

[Andrew Bunch]

Jeff you brought back memories when you mentioned the green sand in the molds. when I was a teenager out of high school, I work at Richards foundry in Norfolk Va, helping make manhole covers and I very much remember the green sand and its smell in the pattern room. :)

[Dan Tinsley]

Roy

I haven't been able to find any of the dimensions for the 1st series Griswold pans, or any other for that matter on line. If anyone has that information I would appreciate it.

This pan is 13-1/16" as photo'd. The bottom from edge to edge of the heat ring is 11-3/4" The top spout tp spout edge is 14-1/8" Handle is approx. 5"

Thanks to all for the help.

[Dan Tinsley]

Still haven't found any info on 1st series ERIE #12 pan dimensions, any help appreciated.

[Dan Tinsley]

Lady i'm just interested in the pan dimensions of an original 1st series ERIE # 12 thats all.