Picked this up at an estate sale that had a few pans and a number of odd pieces. This is one of them. Overall length is 27". The plates are just under 5 1/2". The iron is quite pitted and worn. The plates appear to have been riveted onto the handle. The only markings I can see are a number "2" on both of the plates, and four small punch marks on one plate with identical punch marks on the handle next to it. The eagle and shield are inverted to each other, like the heads and tails on US coins. The carving of the eagle and shield is quite good, but badly corroded or fire damaged on the farthest side from the handle. Hard to get decent pictures but here goes. Any ideas out there?
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Probably not for cooking, but what is this for?
- Thread starter KevinB
- Start date
Not a brand for cattle. It's hard to show with the pics, but this is hinged with the two plates pretty much in full contact when pressed closed. It could be for burning an image onto leather. I was originally thinking it might have been to make some kind of wafer, but if so, it would be very thin.
It seems that I was closer than I thought mentioning wafers. I did a number of searches and eventually tried something like "early American iron." That got me to an auction catalog from 2014. You will need to advance the catalog to page 58-59. https://issuu.com/skinnerinc/docs/2744m-2743t-2757b-wrought-iron Be aware that the catalog takes a few seconds to load. There are a couple in the catalog that are similar, listed as "Wrought and cast iron wafer iron."
Now that I knew what it was, I turned this up:
https://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-roadshow-appraisal-american-wafer-iron-ca-1812/
The cast iron mold plates are identical, showing the Great Seal of the US. The attachment to the handles is a bit different, and I think mine is less corroded than this one. The video is 10 years old, so I have no idea what's happened to prices, But I think I did pretty good for $40.
Now that I knew what it was, I turned this up:
https://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-roadshow-appraisal-american-wafer-iron-ca-1812/
The cast iron mold plates are identical, showing the Great Seal of the US. The attachment to the handles is a bit different, and I think mine is less corroded than this one. The video is 10 years old, so I have no idea what's happened to prices, But I think I did pretty good for $40.
I found another one that looks even more like mine, although mine is a bit shorter. I suppose back when everything was handmade, that's expected. On this one the hinges look the same. Sort of shaped like an arrowhead. There are a couple of you tube videos showing how they were used. This one is in better condition than mine, and I have no idea if mine is one of the 20 they reported being made, but it's interesting to think they enjoyed ice cream cones 200 years ago, nice to think it might have been!
emuseum.nyhistory.org
Wafer iron
Cast iron wafer iron with two circular plates impressed on both sides with great seal of the United States with sixteen stars, attached to wrought iron handles; one en …
emuseum.nyhistory.org
wafer iron... similar to pizzelle or krumkake etc. there is a facebook group for cast iron waffle iron - pizzelle - krumkake - novelties... that has a lot of info... this one has shown up before...sometimes referred to as 'the great seal' pattern... although I think that has been disputed. the attachment style of attaching the paddles to the handles is quite early
