Should I buy a skillet because of an ampersand?

S

SpurgeonH

Active member
As I had detailed before, when I broke my grandmother's skillet I was crushed. The search for one like it has fueled my cast iron obsession. I posted last week about finding a number 6 and number 8 which are very similar. I've also searching eBay and Etsy, for a match. ...

Well, one thing that made my grandmother's skillet unique was the molder's mark was an ampersand. (The "&" symbol.) I believe Doug said he had never seen one. When I emailed Lodge about the skillet, they also said they had never seen one.

Tonight I found another one! There is an unmarked skillet on Etsy, solid heat ring, raised 8 (sure wish it was a 7), and an ampersand as the molder's mark. The underside of the handle is slightly different and there seems to be a problem with the bottom of the skillet.

They want $35 for it. I'm so tempted to buy it, just for the ampersand!
 
I have seen an ampersand molder's mark before, so I don't think I would have said that. Consider that long ago the ampersand was included as part of the alphabet, like a 27th letter, so its use in a context where letters are used isn't all that unusual.
 
I'm still waffling. The bottom of the skillet has me worried, and I already have a #8 ... although mine as small pour spouts and the one I'm looking at has large spouts. And Doug, you are right, on further thought I think it was Bonnie who commented she had never seen one.

BTW - if the ampersand was in the alphabet when this skillet was made, it's older than I thought. ;) May the scuff mark on the bottom is what's left of a mid-1800's gate mark. Ha!
 
Spurgeon, it was I who said it but what I meant was I had never seen such a large ampersand. I believe I have a skillet here somewhere that has a small ampersand on it. The ampersand on your broken skillet was quite large.
 
Roger that. It is definitely much larger than the one on the skillet I saw on Etsy. And it was turned the opposite way (upside down compared to the other one.) I figure it was the first skillet made when Lodge rebuilt the factory. It was his way of saying, "aaaaand here we go again!" Haha! That's the story I'm sticking withanyway. ;)
 
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