So Who Is Alfred Andresen anyway?

[rust]

I have one of these waffle irons on its way to my house and I want to be able to inform my unenlightened family and friends.
Is he:
A. A Norwegian American man in the field of advertising whose company was also known as Western Importing out of Minneapolis (est 1893). He marketed "Sundhets Saltet" and "other medications, spinning wheels, and kromkagejern?" Whatever those are.
B. A man who imported whiskey into the country.
C. A man who really liked waffles and appreciated the cast iron talents of Griswold
D. No one has a clue but his iron makes great waffles anyway. See red book page 158.

Just interested. Thanks

[Steve_Stephens]

Holly,
The fifth choice (E) is the answer.  Oh, but you can't go there; you're not a WAGS member.  See, there ARE advantages to being a member so you'd better get your dueies in soon!

In the past few months there have been at least two threads about Alfred Andresen with at least 80 posts.  New member Tom Neitzel was gracious enough to post some photos from Andresen catalogs; pages and information that none of us had seen and he seems to be our resident Andresen expert.  In addition, Greg posted the whole(?) catalog as a PDF.  All this info is behind the $25 dues curtain and open to WAGS members as one of their benefits.

If we didn't charge for membership there might not be money or volunteers to run this site, organize the convention, reprint catalogs and a whole lot more including paying Greg's pension (just kidding- he does an enormous amount of work for all the reproduction and fake Griswold we can mail him each year.  Thanks Greg.)

Rush that $30 in to whoever gets it and be a part of the whole gaggle of WAGS members.

And remember some good collector's advice; A few good pieces per year are worth a lot more than a bunch of mediocre pieces in the same time.  Think quality over quantity.  I know that's hard to do as a new collector but, in time, you will learn what make(s) or types of pieces interest you most and you can specialize some.  Buy all the books and catalog reprints you can (at least the better ones) and study them.  Join WAGS and study us.   Never forget to have fun.

Steve

[rust]

Wonderful advice. Thanks am taking your suggestions to heart.  I thought the answer might have been A as I looked it up on the internet and that was what seemed the closest.

[Greg Stahl]

Steve,
You done and did it now.  Both Holly and Gus joined WAGS!!  Now we have two more addicts in the lot.

Pretty soon, we have to file for Federal aid for this cast iron addiction is getting larger by the week! [smiley=icon_bananas.gif]

[Steve_Stephens]

Are we ready yet for that convention center instead of the motel (hotel) to hold our convention?

Though the numbers seem to be growing nicely, it's the happy members we keep long term who matter most in the count.

And welcome to both Holly and Gus.  I hope we can give you what you are looking for (forget that No.1 Griswold skillet).  And don't be afraid to jump in and participate wherever you like.  New and old alike here; we are all in it for the fun and to share with others.

Steve

[C. B. Williams]

Yes Holly and Gus, welcome. Do either of you have a good recipe? Come see me at "too many chefs in the kitchen".  And read the recipes, I promise we have some good ones. C B

[C. Perry Rapier]

Yes, Welcome Holly and Gus. We'd all like to hear your two cents worth. We are all here to learn and we like to hear new ideas and input. Tell us about your favorite cast iron? Tell us about the pieces your grandparents used and how you remember it. Tell it all. About three years ago I went to an antique store looking for cast iron. At the time I did not know there were other crazy people like me that liked the stuff, let alone there being books on such stuff. Well anyway, the shopkeeper got underneath the counter and pulled out a little griswold dutch oven with raised letters and all. He wanted 100.00 for it and I thought it was a lot of money for something so small and I thought it was fake. Well I found out otherwise and I went back to see if it was still there and it was sold. It was a 0 dutch oven. I don't remember if it was the loop or knob handle but I think it was the loop handle. Anyway, just a story of where I lost out.

[rust]

Ok, now I know about Alfie the waffle iron. It is so nice to know. I didn't want anyone asking me why I had someone else's waffle iron in my house. Also my iron has the number 999 on one side so if I twist it around on this side I should be able to make some devilish waffles (get it?). Now, the truth is, I am not fond of waffles (Gus is though) - I am looking forward to making Pizelle's (sp?) and waffle cones for homemade ice cream. Maybe I should have my cholesterol checked first, never mind.

[Tom Neitzel]

I'll add my welcome to all the others.  I've not thought of Alfred Andresen as a salesman, but I suppose that would fit.  He struck me as an 1890s Norwegian entrepreneur that saw a niche market to supply the large Scandinavian immigrant population with the cooking, baking and other household goods they were accustomed to having in the old country.

It looks like your collecting/baking interesting might be a little similar to mine in some cases.  I'm half Norwegian and like preserving the traditional cooking/baking.  I started out collecting specialized scandinavian bakeware (like krumkake irons, aebleskiver and plett pans, goro irons, rosette and heart waffle irons).  I like to use them too.  Then I found pizzelle irons, they are like krumkake irons but a little thicker.  Designs can be spectacular.  Then I had to throw in the occaisional muffin pan.  Thankfully I haven't been bit by the skillet variation of this collecting disease.

If you have questions about more of the Andresen products, the catalogs do show a lot and I have examples of most of the bakeware items that were sold and may be able to help you out.  Even have a couple of the lefse (potato flatbread) rolling pins that are works of art.  You can roll dough so thin you can read through it.

The reason I ended up here is there is an Andresen/Griswold connection.  Andresen didn't cast his bakeware, but instead jobbed it out.  Griswold made the bulk of his items after about 1905, may have before, but we've not pinned it down.  Your waffle iron is a Griswold product.

You kind of have to have a screw loose I think to collect cast iron, but as I have told my wife, be thankful I don't collect tractors.

Tom


"You can always tell a Norwegian, but not very much."

[rust]

Wonderful post Tom, thanks. We have our cooking tastes in comomn, for sure.
Well everyone, when the postman rang the bell today to notify us of a package I wanted to hold my breath, as I opened the door. The thought of what it could be gave me butterflies in my stomach. He said "it's a heavy one" (personal note: double mailman's tip this year) drum roll please, IT IS HERE!!! (C.B. actually picked the Alfie out as a good choice and we went for it.) We were headed for the heart star and chose this for better ease of removal (better bang for the buck too). Well, it is so lovely I can't tell you. It will take some work to remove the enhanced photo op finish but it will be well worth it. For now it sits on our gas cooktop as if it were a bow on a package. Do you think I can make pizzelles and waffle cones too? I'm going to try!
Thanks too for welcoming us into the membership GCIC loop (great cast iron collectors). I highly recommend it as as good a bang for your buck as an Alfred Andresen waffle iron.

[rust]

One thing about Alfie which I'm curious about. The nut/acorn, turny thingy at the top is a tad wiggly (loose)  in the cup holder. Is that normal? I wonder if this is what causes it to tip a bit to one side? Don't think the shine has worn off this nickel (or should I say iron). This is still a beauty.

[Steve_Stephens]

The nut/acorn, turny thingy at the top is a tad wiggly (loose)  in the cup holder. Is that normal?

Do you mean the ball hinge joint that rests in the cup on the frame?  I've seen some where you would open one of the irons up but it would fall over backwards.  You could have a mismatched iron/frame or the iron or frame could be worn or a bad casting.  I'd probably have to see it.  Some looseness is ok and normal but each iron should stay up when the iron is opened.  A slight tilt to one side doesn't seem abnormal but not exactly normal either.

Steve

[rust]

Steve, thanks for your reply. I do mean the ball hinge joint that rests in the cup. My base just says Griswold #8 on the top while the bottom of the base has an  S under the ball joint cup with p/n 975C. Does the letter S mean second? The heart iron has p/n 891 and 999 on them. When the iron is open it does stay together and stands up fine if not rocked. Gus says the tolerance between the ball and cup is about 3/16 of an inch  and does not fit snuggly enough so that if you lift the waffle iron up to a 45 degree angle there is enough play to lift one side of the iron out. Gus also has just noticed the base is roughly cast with blemishes and the D on Griswold on the handle above the 8 is missing (as if they ran out of room).
The reason we are questioning it is because we saw another one at an antique store (low base heart star) that was a tighter hinge with less rocking and wondered if this is just evidence of the differences found in these designs.

[Steve_Stephens]

"S" under the socket is not for second.  Griswold would have to intentionally cast a second if they were going to mark them as such.  It's not until a piece comes out of the mold that it might be a second if there even was such a thing.  By that time it's too late to mark the pan with a cast-in mark.

The hears star pan is later so the design might be a little tighter and work better.  It's not uncommon to have small flaws in Griswold's castings.

Steve

[rust]

All good points. I think we will chalk this up to the age and work around the quirks because we really do like this iron. I appreciate your help.

[Tom Neitzel]

Holly, it sounds like you have a proper complete set although the markings should be 999 on one side and 981 on the other.  This is a ball hinge and the fit sounds proper.  There should be a little tab sticking down from the 999 half just in front of the handle.  There is a socket this fits into on the 981 half that keeps the two halves from shifting around when closed.  Between the ball and this tab the iron stays tightly in place for cooking.

Once you get the blue book (The Book Of Griswold and Wagner), look on page 84 at the various hinge types.  

tom