Who writes it, and how.
This is a citation-first reference to America's cast-iron cookware makers — every fact on it tied to a period catalog, patent, or trademark record. It is written and maintained by one cook and collector.
My name is Ethan Trex. I've been cooking with cast iron since I was a kid. My mom does a lot of cooking on an ancient Wagner skillet passed down from my great-grandmother, so I learned to cook on it as well. I'm nowhere near the chef she is, but the cast iron bug really bit me in my early 20s. I got a modern Lodge skillet of my own, and eventually I started picking up vintage pieces at thrift stores, antique malls, and flea markets.
I love the process of finding an old gnarly-looking pan that someone has given up on and trying to return it to its original glory. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure there's something magical in old cast iron that makes food just a little bit tastier.
As I got more interested in restoring cookware, I naturally got curious about the names and brands behind my pans, and doing historical research about a new piece became just as much a part of my process as stripping and seasoning. This site represents an effort to compile as much reliable primary data about the pans as I can possibly find.
— Ethan Trex
Every page here works the same way: a claim is only as good as the document behind it. Primary sources — manufacturers' and wholesalers' catalogs, price lists, trade journals, and patent and trademark records — establish the facts; secondary works are treated as leads until a primary confirms them. Each page carries its sources and a confidence flag (✓ read directly, ~ corroborated, ⚑ identified but not yet transcribed) so you always know what proves what.
Hope you enjoy it. If you have questions or feedback, please drop me a note at ethan@photoop.com.