Identify Gate-Marked Griddle with Raised Letters

[MarkD]

Hello all. Here is a thrift store piece I picked up a year or so ago.





It's a beautiful little griddle (still needs a lot of cleaning up), with just a couple pocks; otherwise, the surfaces are nicely preserved.

From what I can gather, the gate mark almost certainly places it before 1900, and according to some likely before 1890, but beyond that I haven't found much to go on so far as narrowing a date or speculating as to the manufacturer.




The handle is fairly ergonomic with just a little bit of panache on its top.

The most interesting part is the raised lettering on the bottom.


9 - G - A

I'm very interested in hearing what anyone knows or can hypothesize about this feature. From what I have read these were impressed into the mold just before pour, ostensibly by the laborer casting the iron, and are said to include the workers initials ("GA") with the number ("9") identifying the shift/crew (most significantly, indicating the foreman).

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks, all.

 

[Doug D.]

Molder's marks are more often that not a single character or two letters assumed to be the foundryman's initials. Markings beyond that we can only as you say hypothesize, but certainly they signified someone or something relevant at the time of casting. We do know that small raised blobs with numerals seen on Lodge pans from a certain period of their production were shift identifiers.

 

[MarkD]

@Doug D.
Thanks for the note. I'll keep plugging away with research as time allows, so if there is any source outside of what a Google search illuminates or is to be found throughout this site that you feel might be worth exploring I would appreciate that sense of direction.

Thanks again, and be well.

 

[Bruce Lockhart]

I have a griddle almost identical to yours. The handle has a 7 on the top of the handle and a T on the bottom of the griddle in about the same position as the A on yours. Mine has a very pronounced gate mark and is in much worse shape than yours. I've seen a couple like mine for sale on EBay but nobody seems to know who made them. If you find out, i'd appreciate you letting me know.