On 1/11/2014 4:51 PM, Steve Freides wrote:
> 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.
>
> We have one 12" cast iron skillet, have had it forever, take lousy care
> of it - wash it w/ soap and wash, almost never re-reason/oil it, and
> it's still fantastic. I'll have to go look and see what brand it is.
>
> The Griswold thing is cool to know about though - I didn't know there
> was such a thing as a collectible cast iron skillet, but I'm fine w/ the
> idea.
>
> -S-
>
>
Anything can become collectible if they stop making it and there's a
market for it. Griswold is just one example of things that you can't
find anymore unless you happen upon a piece or two at a yard sale,
thrift shop or auction.

My mother's "every day dishes" were Franciscan Ware, Desert Rose
pattern. I don't know when they stopped making it (sometime in the
1960's, I'd guess). Every once in a while I'll see a Franciscan cup and
saucer in an antique shop and they're asking upwards of $20. Heck, I've
got 12 of them.

Jill