Trying to narrow down date on Alfred Andresen Krumbkake iron

[Laurel J.]

I purchased an Alfred Andresen Kornucopia Krumbkake iron and am awaiting it's arrival. Amazed at all the vintage irons, and trying to date the one I purchased.
I have a few questions and hoping someone may be able to help:
Mine is marked 975 WICo. on base - does this mean Western Importing Co.? Does this mean mine was made after Alfred was ousted? So, 1913 or later?
How long were these made?
Another clue may be that mine has a simple teardrop cut out in the handle of the base. All the others I've viewed, whether marked Griswold or WICo., have a fancier design in the base's handle.
Thanks for any info!

 

[Bruce Lockhart]

I was under the impression that when they ousted Alfred Andresen in 1913, they changed the name to Western Importing Co., dropped the Alfred Andresen, and started producing products with only the Western Importing Co. name on them. The Kornukopia KrumKake iron was patented by Alfred Andresen in 1906, which means that if your iron has the Alfred Andresen name on it, it was likely made between 1906 and 1913. Alfred Andresen didn't produce anything, but farmed out all his production to other companies and they would put his name on the product. The 975 number on the base is a Griswold number, so the base was probably made by Griswold, as was the iron itself.

 

[Laurel J.]

Thanks Bruce, that's very helpful. Mine should arrive tomorrow, I'll take some pictures soon to post. Still curious about the design on the bases' handle being a little different.

 

[Laurel J.]

The mystery of the bases' handle is solved. It's the same as the others, just couldn't see the whole handle in the photo.