On 1/10/2014 12:47 PM, sf wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Jan 2014 11:38:05 -0500, pltrgyst > wrote:
>
>> On 1/9/14, 10:19 PM, Steve Freides wrote:
>>
>>> Just did a quick Google - looks to be vintage cast iron, but also looks
>>> a lot like any other cast iron skillet. We have exactly one of those,
>>> 12", I think - I don't know the brand but I'm sure it will outlast us.
>>> ....
>>> Does it cook better, or is it a vintage kind of thing, or some of both?
>>
>> As the OP said, it's a Griswold, and Griswold went out of business in
>> 1957. Griswold is pretty universally acknowledged to have produced the
>> finest cast iron pans ever made.
>>
> I'm with Steve. I have cast iron that came to me via my mother who
> got it from my grandmother and I wouldn't be surprised if it came from
> great-grandma. There's no name on it, but it's easily 75-100 years
> old. Cast iron pans don't need to have a brand name stamped on them
> to cook well and to last.
>
That's true, they don't have to have a name attached to be old and still
perfectly usable.

IMHO, for the same reason collectors of pottery and porcelain look for
stamps and markings on a piece, collectors of Griswold want to see that
mark. They want to be able to date it. Figure out if it was an early
cast (more valuable at auction?) or a later cast. Collectors; go figure.

The cast iron griddle that belonged to my grandmother is very old and
still very functional. She used to bake scones on it. I even got to
see her do that. I haven't examined it for markings. The markings (or
lack thereof) don't matter to me. I still use it, two generations later.

Jill