History of Lodge Corn Bread Skillet

D

DavidL

New member
I hope to find some closure about Lodge versus BSR Cornbread skillets and who arrived first. As we know in the RB, page 227, the authors state these skillets have been made since the 1930s, thus preceding BSR. This is important to me because when I list mine on ebay, I give an approximate era based on the markings under the Lodge skillet. Am I missing something here? I am familiar with modemac and his extensive website about BSR. Comments welcome.

David
 
The RB must be mistaken. No such pan appears in Lodge catalogs from the 1930s, 1940s, or the 1950s. The RB describes the markings on the one it shows as having CB on it, a marking convention Lodge did not begin to use until the late 1950s. BSR is accepted as having introduced its pan first, in the mid to late 1960s. Others were quick to copy despite BSR putting patent pending on theirs, although it appears no patent was ever granted. It is said Lodge put the hole in theirs to circumvent potential patent infringement claims.
 
If you are familiar with http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/Corn_Bread_Pans_by_Birmingham_Stove_and_Range you probably have already seen this

"Birmingham Stove & Range can be credited as the first company to produce the popular cornbread skillet, a cast iron pan with eight wedges for individual pieces of cornbread. (This pan can also be used to bake cookies, brownies, and many other delightful foods.) The most notable identification mark for a BS&R cornbread skillet is the solid center of the pan. On the underside of the pan, there is an indentation to match the center of the pan. Lodge produced its own imitation of the cornbread skillet shortly after the original was introduced by BS&R; though they added a hole in the center of the pan. When BS&R's designs were acquired by Lodge in the late 1980s, the design and ownership of the cornbread skillet was passed on to Lodge. This pan is sold today as the Lodge wedge pan."

The story of the cornbread skillet, according to retired Birmingham Stove & Range President Saunders Jones, went: "Billy Washburn was the guy in charge of the production line [Foundry Foreman], and his wife wanted that cornbread skillet for a long time but no one ever listened. Finally, one day they decided to indulge him and the thing took off! They couldn't make enough of them!" Mrs. Washburn wanted a "cornbread skillet" that would cook cornbread with a crust on all sides of each piece, so her husband used his position as one of the Foundry's Foremen and made a handmade pattern. He experimented with it in 1967, and it became their best seller.

The cornbread skillet was initially produced with a PAT. PENDING ("patent pending") mark, and not a MADE IN USA mark. This was done in an attempt to prevent other companies from producing their own imitation versions of this pan; though the attempt was unsuccessful. 1967 to 1968 were record-setting years for BS&R, largely due to the sales of this skillet. The popularity of the cornbread skillet soon enticed rival Lodge Manufacturing to produce their own sectioned "wedge pan" in imitation of the cornbread skillet, which was introduced "only three to four months" (Saunders) after BS&R began producing the cornbread skillet. The Lodge skillet had a hole in the middle, which made it lighter than the BS&R pan. When BS&R saw their skillet being imitated, they removed the PAT. PENDING mark and replaced it with the standard MADE IN USA mark, in the early 1970s."

Jack
 
All good feedback so far especially about the absence of these skillets in the catologues, etc. but where to place several pieces I've had so far where the markings are consistent with similar Lodge skillets like a shift mark above the 8, or no shift mark above the 8 or the absence of CB, or without MADE IN USA is confusing to me. Lodge was using MADE IN USA at least up to the time of 1967 right? None of my Lodge pieces have been marked with a CB or MADE IN USA. Please understand my need to be clear is based on me selling CI on ebay with accurate date information. I'm curious about where the authors of the RB are getting their dating information.

:?: :confused:
 
CB = Corn Bread. It would only appear on the corn bread skillet. As SK only appears on Lodge skillets, or DO on their dutch ovens. See bottom of page: http://www.castironcollector.com/numbers.php For Lodge, the Made In USA (spelled out, not just "U.S.") incised into pieces appears to have begun in the early 1960s. A generalized timeline of Lodge markings here: http://www.castironcollector.com/unmarked.php#lodge

Occasionally, information seen in the books is incorrect or typographical error, and many have not been corrected in later editions.
 
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