Favorite Stove & Range Co.

Favorite Piqua Ware — Piqua, Miami County, Ohio

Researched & written by Ethan Trex, a cast-iron cook & collector. · Reviewed August 2026

Cast-iron hollow ware c.1916–1935 Mark the “Smiley” — a smiling sun cast in the bottom Rank the third of the collectible “big three”

With Griswold and Wagner, Favorite is the third of the collectible “big three.” It was a large Piqua, Ohio stove works—fifty thousand stoves a year by 1896^FV3—whose premium cast-iron line, Favorite Piqua Ware (c.1916–1935), is prized for smooth, light castings and, above all, for the one mark no other American foundry ever used: the “Smiley,” a smiling sun cast into the bottom of the pan.^FV4 Favorite sold three lines —Piqua Ware (premium), Miami (budget), and Puritan, a private label for Sears—and that last one hides the guide’s neatest puzzle: Sears’s “Puritan” cast iron was made by both Favorite and Griswold.^FV5 Most useful to a collector, this page shows how to read a Favorite—and untangle a Puritan.

↔ Companion pages: Griswold · Wagner · Lodge · Wapak · Sidney · BSR · Atlanta · CHF

✓ Primary — read/searched directly ~ Corroborated — multiple collector authorities agree ⚑ To transcribe — n/a (no Favorite catalogue exists)

Documented facts

Date	Attribute	Value	Source	Confidence
1889	Favorite Stove & Range Co., Piqua OH identity	Grew from W.C. Davis & Co. (Cincinnati, 1848) → Great Western Stove Works → Favorite, under William King Boal (1832–1916), moved to Piqua. (Founding dates vary ~1882–1889.)	FV1	~ corroborated
1896	A big stove works identity	300+ employees, ~50,000 stoves a year. The prized cast-iron cookware came later, ~1916–1935, under Boal’s son W. Stanhope Boal.	FV3	~ corroborated
c.1916	The “Smiley” — the signature mark◆ flagship dating	A smiling sun-face cast into the bottom — unique in American cast iron; “the most immediately identifiable logo” in the hobby. A Smiley = an instant Favorite.	FV4	~ corroborated
c.1916	Three brand lines product	Piqua Ware (premium) · Miami (budget, a diamond mark) · Puritan (a private label for Sears Roebuck).	FV2	~ corroborated
c.1916	The “Puritan” puzzle authentication	Sears’s “Puritan” cast iron was made by *both Favorite and* Griswold** — tell them apart by the handle shape & Griswold’s 4-digit pattern numbers.	FV5	~ corroborated
c.1916	Product line & quality product	A full hollow-ware line (skillets, griddles, Dutch ovens, kettles, Scotch bowls, gem pans, waffle irons) in smooth, light, premium castings — Griswold/Wagner class.	FV2	~ corroborated
1935	Liquidated identity	The Depression, following W. Stanhope Boal’s death in 1933, ended the company in 1935. Its cookware patterns and tooling passed to Chicago Hardware Foundry (~1934), which revived the “Favorite” name in Illinois — so the brand outlived the Piqua works.	FV3	~ corroborated
—	Thinly documented on paper identity	No period Favorite catalogue is digitized, and the cookware marks aren’t in the modern trademark dataset (an 1893 stove/range TM exists as a lead).	FV6	✓ primary

Reading a Favorite — the happiest mark in cast iron

Attribution is the easy part: a smiling sun in the bottom is Favorite and nothing else. The particular mark then places it inside the ~1916–1935 hollow-ware run.

The “Smiley”

Illustrative schematic of the idea — not a reproduction of Favorite’s exact logo. No other American foundry used a smiling-sun mark.

Honest caveat. The mark date-ranges are collector best-estimates (FV2), and the founding date varies across sources (~1882/1887/1888/1889). The verified point is the no-catalogue negative (FV6); the history is strongly cross-corroborated.

Era	Mark	Tells
c.1916–34	Block “FAVORITE / PIQUA WARE”	Plain capitals — likely the earliest cookware mark.
c.1916–34	The “Smiley” (smiling sun-face)	The signature — instant Favorite. Common on the premium Piqua Ware.
c.1916–35	“Best To Cook In” (arced Favorite + slogan)	A brand-plus-slogan mark.
c.1916–35	“Sunrise” rayed seal	A circular rayed seal — seen on waffle irons.
c.1916–35	“Miami” diamond	The budget line, not premium Piqua Ware.
c.1916–34	“Puritan” (Sears)	The Sears private label — but a Puritan may be Favorite- or Griswold-made (below).

The “Puritan” puzzle

One store brand, two makers

Sears Roebuck contracted its “Puritan” cast-iron line to two of the best foundries at once— Favorite and Griswold—so a Puritan skillet is a Sears store brand whose real maker is one of the big three. The tell: Griswold-made Puritans carry Griswold’s distinctive handle shape and a 4-digit pattern number; a Puritan without those is the Favorite-made one.^FV5 It’s the whole guide in miniature: the name on the pan is the seller, not the maker— read the iron.

What a Favorite is worth today — recent eBay sales

◆ Market data — vetted completed salesNot an appraisal or a catalog price.

One of the collectible “big three” with Griswold and Wagner; its premium “Piqua Ware,” marked with the unmistakable smiling-sun “Smiley,” trades in their class.

Piqua Ware skillet — marked

c.1916–1935 (Smiley / block 'FAVORITE PIQUA WARE')

$66–$140

median $92 · 67 sales

Piqua Ware No. 8 skillet

c.1916–1935

$70–$105

median $95 · 29 sales

'Smiley' skillet (the signature mark)

c.1916–1934 (the smiling-sun mark)

$69–$115

median $85 · 47 sales

Piqua Ware Dutch oven

c.1916–1935

$110–$140

median $120 · 5 sales thin

How to read this. Each range is the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of recent completed eBay sales for vetted, comparable pieces — reproductions, damaged pieces, multi-item lots, other makers and the rarest hand-vetted pieces are filtered out before the range is computed. Cast-iron value swings hard on condition and mark, so treat these as ballparks for clean, common pieces, not appraisals. Source: vetted eBay completed sales via SoldComps; May–Aug 2026.

In period print

Favorite Stove & Range of Piqua, Ohio was a giant of the cast-iron trade — its ranges filled American kitchens, and the ‘Favorite Piqua Ware’ skillets shared the mark. These are the range-maker in its own advertising. Each quote was read on the original page; all are public-domain newspapers.

Advertisement · 1892

“the model stove plant of America.”

An early Favorite Stove & Range notice out of Piqua, Ohio — the firm at the height of its reach.

The Breckenridge News, Cloverport, Ky. · Oct. 19, 1892. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1914

“join the Favorite Club and have a Favorite Range delivered … paying $5.00 down.”

An installment-plan pitch — four months’ fuel free for new club members.

The City Itemizer, Water Valley, Miss. · Sept. 10, 1914. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1925

“New Style Favorite Ranges … $80, $85 and $90.”

“A large shipment” of Favorite ranges on special — concrete period prices.

Grant County Herald, Lancaster, Wis. · Oct. 7, 1925. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1925

“A New Favorite Range FREE!”

A dealer’s stunt — a new range for the owner of the oldest one still in use in the county.

Grant County Herald, Lancaster, Wis. · Sept. 30, 1925. Library of Congress →

Sources

secondary · collector authority
castironcollector.com — Favorite Stove & Range Co. Founder William King Boal (1832–1916); production 1889–1935; the W.C. Davis (1848) → Great Western Stove Works → Favorite → Piqua (1888) lineage; brands Piqua Ware / Miami / Puritan. favorite.php
secondary · collector guide
Boonie Hicks — Guide to Favorite Piqua Ware. The fullest write-up: the hollow-ware era ~1916–1935 under W. Stanhope Boal; the ~8 marks (block, Smiley, “Best To Cook In,” Sunrise, Miami diamond, Puritan); Piqua Ware = premium, Miami = budget, Puritan = Sears. Date-ranges framed as estimates. booniehicks.com
secondary · encyclopedia
Wikipedia — Favorite Stove. Scale & endgame: 300+ employees / ~50,000 stoves a year by 1896; moved to Piqua 1887; liquidation 1935 after W. Stanhope Boal’s death (1933) and the Depression; notes an 1893 Favorite stove/range trademark (a lead). article
secondary · ID guides
Pan Mastery / Cast Iron Canada / Steve’s Seasoned Classics. Corroborate the Smiley as a smiling sun-face — “the most immediately identifiable logo in American cast iron collecting,” used by no other foundry; premium smooth/light castings. panmastery.com
secondary · market structure
castironcollector store.php / Boonie Hicks (Puritan). Sears’s “Puritan” was cast by BOTH Favorite and Griswold concurrently; “Griswold Puritans are easily distinguished from the Favorite-made by the distinctive handle shape and the 4-digit pattern numbers.” store.php
primary · verified negative
Internet Archive — no Favorite catalogue. A sweep for “favorite piqua ware” / “favorite stove range” returns no period catalogue or price list — so there is no priced/spec datum; the marks rest on collector scholarship.

Part of a citation-first cast-iron cookware reference. Companions: Griswold · Wagner · Lodge · Wapak · Sidney. Confidence flags: ✓ primary (read/searched directly) · ~ corroborated (multiple collector authorities) · ⚑ to transcribe. The Smiley schematic is an original drawing showing the idea only. Pre-1930 catalogs, patents & county histories are public domain.