Griswold Mfg. Co.

The Griswold Manufacturing Company — Erie, Pennsylvania

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

Active 1865/66–1957 (Erie works) Trademark GRISWOLD in a cross & double circle Type Manufacturer — skillets, Dutch ovens, waffle irons, hollow ware

Griswold is the most collected name in American cast iron. It grew out of an Erie, Pennsylvania hardware partnership between Matthew Griswold and his Selden cousins—hinges by 1868, the “Selden & Griswold” name by 1873—and was reorganized as the Griswold Manufacturing Company in 1887 after an 1885 fire.^G13^G14 Its smooth, light, finely-finished skillets, Dutch ovens and waffle irons—marked first “ERIE,” then with the famous GRISWOLD cross—set the standard for the trade. Unlike the premium axe makers, whose catalogs listed specs but no prices, Griswold priced its wares in its own books: its iconic No. 8 skillet listed at 50¢ in the 1888–89 price list — a figure it held flat for seven years.^G4 A point of pride the company printed on those covers—“Established 1866”—quietly disagrees with the collector-standard 1865.^G2^G5 Rival Wagner bought the company in 1957 and the Erie plant closed; the mark was retired after 1973.^G14 Most useful to a collector, this page shows how to date a Griswold piece by its mark.

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

✓ Primary — opened directly, text quoted ~ Corroborated — reliable collector authority, no primary ⚑ To transcribe — source digitized, figure pending

Documented offerings & facts

Date	Attribute	Value	Source	Confidence
1865	Origin in Erie, PA identity	Matthew Griswold & his Selden cousins build a light-hardware business (hinges by 1868). Griswold’s own catalogs say “Established 1866.”	G13 timeline	~ corroborated
1887	Chartered as the Griswold Mfg. Co. identity	Reorganized after the 1885 fire; the name kept to the end. (1884 = the Selden buy-out, a commonly-confused earlier date.)	G14	~ corroborated
1888	Regular Skillet (“Spider”), list price◆ flagship price	No. 8 = 50¢ — full ladder No. 6–12 = 38¢ / 42¢ / 50¢ / 56¢ / 70¢ / 88¢ / $1.02 (held flat to 1895; read off the page scan)	G4 1888–89 p.5	✓ primary
1888	Cast-iron hollow ware, per dozen price	$12.00 per dozen — No. 6 (for a No. 6/7 stove) (earliest located Griswold price list)	G4 1888–89	✓ primary
1897	Cast-aluminum ware, per dozen price	$5.25 per dozen — No. 1, 11 in. long (Griswold in aluminum by 1897)	G3 1897 aluminum list	✓ primary
c.1898	Waffle irons, each price	$3.40 (No. 13) & $4.50 (No. 14) each — “also sold in sets of one Stove, Waffle and Griddle”	G1 Gen. Cat. No. 45	✓ primary
1920	Self-basting lid patented innovation	The concave, drip-ribbed lid (the “Tite-Top” principle). “FEB 10 1920” is cast into the ware.	G9 US 1,330,209	✓ primary
1925	Self-basting skillet cover patented innovation	Arched cover with a vapor-returning rib. “PAT. SEPT 22 1925” cast into the covers.	G10 US 1,554,360	✓ primary
1957	End of the independent company identity	Acquired by McGraw-Edison (Mar), then Wagner/Randall; Erie plant closed Dec. Later pieces cast at Wagner’s Sidney, OH foundry.	G14	~ corroborated
1973	Griswold trademark retired dating	Authentic-era Griswold-mark use ends. (A present-day Erie LLC re-registered the name in 2018 — no continuity.)	G13	~ corroborated

Dating a piece by its mark — the collector’s first question

Cast iron is dated almost entirely by its mark, exactly as an axe is dated by its stamp. The evolution ERIE → Griswold’s Erie → slant cross → large block → small block is the spine of the hobby, refined by heat rings and pattern numbers.

Honest caveat. The marking sequence below is collector scholarship, not primary documentation. The recognized authority (castironcollector.com, G13) states its own date ranges are “best estimates … and do not necessarily denote the beginning and/or end of production.” Its trademark-based and skillet-based tables differ by a few years on several marks, so ranges below are given as ranges, not false precision. Only the patent dates and the cross-mark first-use (1924-12-11, G12) are primary-anchored.

Era	Mark	Tells
early 1880s–1905	Block “ERIE” (in quotes), no company name	The earliest hollow-ware mark. Heat ring outside on the 1st–3rd “series”; pattern numbers first appear on the 3rd series (1890s+). “Erie pieces are Griswold” — “pre-Griswold” is a misnomer.
very early 1890s	The “Spider” — a raised skillet-bodied spider on its web, “ERIE” across its back	A raised (not incised) logo on one skillet size only; wore off easily → the rarest, most valuable Griswold-lineage skillet.
1905–1907	Block “ERIE” with no quotes; heat ring inset	The immediate precursor to adding the company name.
c. 1906–1909	“Griswold’s ERIE” (company name added above ERIE)	First step away from the bare ERIE mark, before the cross logo.
c. 1906/09–1929	“Slant” logo: GRISWOLD in a cross inside a double circle (italic)	Seen as “Slant Erie” (older, lightly incised) then “Slant EPU” = “ERIE, PA, U.S.A.” (later, deeper). Inset heat ring. Cross-mark first use primary-confirmed 1924-12-11; the popular “1909 registration” is unverified.
c. 1920/24–1940	“Large Block” logo (bold block lettering)	Adds descriptive text like “CAST IRON SKILLET” and always the “ERIE, PA, U.S.A.” designation. Found with a heat ring or smooth bottom.
c. 1939–1957	“Small Block” logo (reduced; “ERIE, PA.” — U.S.A. dropped)	Smaller mark, descriptive text gone; smooth bottom (no heat ring) except sizes 12 & up, which kept an inset ring.
c. 1955–1957	“Late/Medium Block” (“ERIE, PA”, no U.S.A.)	A brief final variant, larger than the small block; cut short by the 1957 Wagner buy-out.
1957–1973	Wagner-era Griswold marks (incl. a Griswold+Wagner dual logo)	Cast from modified Wagner patterns at Sidney, OH; “hastily-concocted” mark versions. Authentic use ends after 1973.

The heat-ring shortcut

Heat ring present → generally pre-~1939 (outside on the earliest ERIE, inset from ~1905). Smooth bottom (no ring) → generally ~1939+ (small-block era) — with the one exception that small-block sizes 12 and above kept an inset ring. And a date cast into a lid — “FEB 10 1920” or “SEPT 22 1925” — means the lid design postdates that patent^G9^G10.

Documented product lines — from Griswold’s own General Catalogue No. 45

Cover of The Griswold Mfg. Co. General Catalogue No. 45, Erie PA, showing the cross trademark

Skillets — Regular, Wood-Handle, Shallow, Extra-Deep, and the “Victor” economy line
Dutch ovens / roasters — with handles, with bail, or with legs
Griddles — round & long, incl. gas/vapor-stove griddles
Waffle irons — Nos. 13 & 14, sold singly or in Stove+Waffle+Griddle sets
Aluminum ware — skillets, ovens & oven ware in cast aluminum (from 1897)

Section names read directly from the catalogue scan (G1). The size-by-size skillet price grid — which defeats the OCR because its columns split apart in the scan — has now been read straight off the page images: below.

The skillet price ladder — Griswold’s own 1888–89 list, held flat to 1895

Griswold 1888-89 catalogue p.5: 'Regular Skillet or Spider' price list, the pan cast-lettered GRISWOLD with a spider web ghosted through the page

The multi-column grid split apart in the OCR, so it was read straight off the high-resolution page scans and cross-checked 1888 vs. 1895 — identical (a seven-year price freeze). Prices are the maker’s list, each, “RIMMED—EXTRA FINISH”; a full nickel finish was a premium option (roughly double).^G4

The pan is cast-lettered GRISWOLD; the ghosted spider web on the page is the “Spider” motif that gives the skillet its name.

Size	Regular / “Spider”	Shallow	Extra-Deep / Doughnut Fryer
No. 6	38¢	—	—
No. 7	42¢	36¢	—
No. 8	50¢ ◆	40¢	78¢
No. 9	56¢	44¢	88¢
No. 10	70¢	54¢	$1.04
No. 11	88¢	—	—
No. 12	$1.02	—	—

Also on the same 1895 list (G2), image-verified: a cast-iron covered kettle line (“Regular or Bulged Pot,” Patented March 10, 1891) at No. 6 = 90¢ … No. 9 = $1.32; and the maker priced far more than skillets — No. 6 stove hollow ware at $12.00/doz (1888), cast-aluminum at $5.25/doz (1897), waffle irons at $3.40–$4.50 each. The maker’s book was the price book.

Premium vs. commodity — the No. 8 skillet across three decades

1888 · Griswold list

50¢

No. 8 Regular Skillet (G4)

1895 · Griswold list

50¢

held flat 7 years (G2)

1916 · Ward retail

38¢

generic cast iron (G17)

1916 · Ward, nickeled

62¢

premium tier (G17)

Montgomery Ward 1916 catalogue p.761, 'Extra Quality Cast Iron Ware' — Cast Iron Skillets 38c table

The premium gap. A generation after Griswold’s 50¢ list, Montgomery Ward’s generic “Extra Quality Cast Iron” skillet undersold it at 38¢ (No. 8), while the same skillet nickel-plated ran 62¢ — Griswold’s tier. Basis differs (a maker’s list vs. a retail price), but the position is plain: Griswold sold on finish — “a clean, smooth casting, avoiding rough bottoms and sand holes, so often found in cheap painted ware.”^G17

What a Griswold is worth today — recent eBay sales

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

Maker’s list price · 1888

50¢

No. 8 skillet — marked, common eras — maker's list price, held flat to 1895

Sells for today

$68–$135

median $88 · 328 sales · May–Aug 2026

No. 6 skillet — marked, common eras

c. 1910s–1950s

$48–$95

median $64 · 195 sales

No. 10 skillet — marked, common eras

c. 1910s–1950s

$147–$250

median $204 · 36 sales

No. 8 Tite-Top Dutch oven (with lid)

post-1920 (the 'FEB 10 1920' self-basting lid, patent US 1,330,209)

$110–$184

median $138 · 44 sales

Waffle iron (marked, with base)

late 1800s–1940s

$100–$190

median $140 · 170 sales

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; Dec 2025–Aug 2026.

In period print

No name in American cast iron carried more advertising weight than Griswold of Erie, Pa. — and nothing sold like its waffle irons, from the patent ball-socket handle to the prized ‘Heart-Star’ pattern. Each quote was read on the original page; all are public-domain newspapers.

Advertisement · 1915

“the solid heavy pans cause even distribution of heat.”

A Griswold Waffle Iron ad — wood handles set in air-cooled sockets, on a patent ball-socket joint that lets the pan turn.

The Daily Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa · Oct. 31, 1915. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1920

“Old-Fashioned Waffles Have Come to Stay.”

The maker sells nostalgia by the pan — a Griswold waffle iron that “revived” the waffles of an earlier generation.

The Daily Gate City, Keokuk, Iowa · Jan. 2, 1920. Library of Congress →

In the news · 1921

“moved even the Institute engineer to flights of fancy.”

The New-York Tribune’s testing institute tries the Griswold waffle iron — two waffles at a cost for gas of half a cent.

New-York Tribune · June 5, 1921. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1922

“how easy it is to make good waffles in a Griswold.”

A demonstration sale of the Griswold ‘Heart-Star’ Waffle Iron — the heart-and-star pattern collectors prize today.

The Rock Island Argus, Ill. · Feb. 10, 1922. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1923

“makes the most attractive waffles of any Waffle Iron made.”

The “famous Griswold new heart-shaped Waffle Iron,” a dry-goods special at $2.25.

Casper Daily Tribune, Wyo. · Apr. 4, 1923. Library of Congress →

Advertisement · 1924

“Crisp, creamy waffles — as only a Griswold waffle iron can bake them.”

“Cast of heavy iron” — a full-column Griswold sale, two styles at $3.00.

Casper Daily Tribune, Wyo. · Feb. 19, 1924. Library of Congress →

Sources

primary · catalogue + prices
The Griswold Mfg. Co., General Catalogue No. 45 (cast iron & aluminum, with prices). Undated; internally post-March 1898 (cites a patent “granted March 22, 1898 … sustained by a decree of the U.S. Circuit Court”); collector attribution c. 1911–15. 148 pp. Internet Archive, contributed by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — GriswoldMfgCoCatalogNo45. details public domain
primary · catalogue + prices
Griswold Manufacturing Co., Catalogue and Price List, 1895–96 (cast-iron hollow ware). Cover: “Established 1866 … Erie, PA … 1895–96.” Internet Archive — griswold_1895. details public domain
primary · catalogue + prices
Griswold Manufacturing Co., Catalogue and Price List — Cast Aluminum Ware (1897). Internet Archive — griswold_1897_aluminum. details public domain
primary · catalogue + prices
Griswold Manufacturing Co., Catalogue and Price List, 1888–89 (cast-iron hollow ware; earliest located). Internet Archive — griswold_1888_catalogue. details public domain
primary · trade catalogue (specs)
The Griswold Manufacturing Co. (illustrated trade/export catalogue, 1920) — header “Established 1866 … Erie, Pa., U.S.A.”; model numbers + telegraph code-words in place of prices. Internet Archive — GriswoldMfgCo1920. details public domain
primary · predecessor firm
Selden & Griswold, Catalogue (1885) — the predecessor partnership (a 1883 companion is image-only). Internet Archive — selden_griswold_1885_catalogue. details public domain
primary · bulletin
The Griswold Mfg. Co., Bulletin No. A6 (Sept. 1, 1911) — “Erie” cast-aluminum oven ware & new safety tea kettle. Internet Archive (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) — GriswoldMfgCoBulletinNoA6. details public domain
primary · comparative (Wagner)
The Wagner Mfg. Co., Wagner Ware … Catalogue Number Thirty (1924), Sidney, Ohio. Exhaustive specs, no prices (“Prices quoted upon application”). Internet Archive — wagner-ware-aluminum-cookware-1924. details public domain
primary · US patent
US 1,330,209 — “Cooking Utensil” (self-basting lid / Tite-Top). Charles A. Massing, assr. to Griswold Mfg Co, Erie PA. Filed 1918; granted Feb. 10, 1920. Google Patents
primary · US patent
US 1,554,360 — “Skillet” (self-basting cover). Massing, assr. to The Griswold Mfg Co. Granted Sept. 22, 1925 (companion cover US 1,665,037, Apr. 3, 1928). Google Patents
primary · US patent
US 472,537 — “Gridiron”. Matthew Griswold and Matthew Griswold, Jr., Erie PA. Filed 1891; granted Apr. 12, 1892 — the best early-family anchor. Google Patents
primary · US trademark
Trademark GRISWOLD (cross in double circle), Reg. 0205244 — first use 1924-12-11, reg. 1925-11-03. Disclaims exclusive use of the name apart from the mark; lists four ≈1920–23 prior registrations, so the popular “registered 1909” claim is unverified. USPTO/Justia
secondary · collector authority
castironcollector.com — Griswold company timeline, trademark & skillet dating tables, the ERIE six-series & “Spider.” The recognized dating reference; ranges are its own “best estimates.” griswold.php
secondary · encyclopedia
Wikipedia, “Griswold Manufacturing” — corroborates the 1873/1884/1887/1957/1959/1969 genealogy; cites W. Harned, The History of the Griswold Manufacturing Company (1984). article
secondary · collector society
Wagner & Griswold Society (WAGS) — FAQ & reference lists; Meadows’ “ERIE Skillets” article. Source of the (unverified) “1909 registration” and day-precise 1957 claims. wag-society.org
secondary · price guide (lead only)
David G. Smith & Chuck Wafford, The Book of Griswold & Wagner (Schiffer) — the standard collector monograph; in copyright, cross-check only.
primary · retail catalogue
Montgomery Ward & Co., Catalogue (1916), p.761 — “Extra Quality Cast Iron Ware”: generic cast-iron skillet No. 8 = 38¢, nickel-plated = 62¢. The retail comparison point (image-verified). Internet Archive — MontgomeryWard1916. details public domain

1895–96 Griswold Catalogue and Price List cover, reading “Established 1866, Griswold Mfg. Co., Erie PA, 1895–96”

The flagship receipt. The 1895–96 Catalogue and Price List (G2) — its cover printing “Established 1866” (the maker’s own founding claim, against the collector-standard 1865), and its price lists holding the No. 8 skillet at 50¢ from 1888 clear to 1895. Beside it, General Catalogue No. 45 (G1), whose cover already carries the cross-in-double-circle trademark that dates the piece in your hand.

Part of a citation-first cast-iron cookware reference. Confidence flags: ✓ primary (opened & quoted) · ~ corroborated (reliable collector authority) · ⚑ to transcribe (digitized, figure pending). Pre-1930 catalogs, patents & gazettes are public domain.