Collections Database

Description:
Wrought iron frying pan, marked "W. FOSTER" on the base of the handle. W. Foster may be William Foster, blacksmith of Philadelphia, ca. 1865. Similarly marked objects are owned at Winterthur (a frying pan), the Atwater Kent Museum, Historic Deerfield (three-legged frying pan), and private collections. Marked Foster iron is almost always in the form of a skillet, most with long handles and some with three legs. Marked American iron is extremly rare. The circular frying pan has steeply sloping sides and a long, beveled handle with curved loop at end, which is attached to the back of the frying pan by three rivets. This frying pan was used to cook meats and other food over an open hearth. The long handle protected the cook from burning her hands, catching on fire, or being singed by the heat.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1998.36.10

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.