Granite Iron Ware Cook Book

B&W Illustrations; Possible First Edition (1877) , but likely 1878 early printing. This is a small format booklet with a stapled spine (approximately 4" x 3"). This copy is lacking the chromolithographed full color covers (both front and rear). The title page has a large chip missing, and there is noticeable light toning to the title page as well. The text pages are otherwise, generally clean. "The product that elevated the St. Louis Stamping Company into a nationally recognized brand was graniteware or "granite ironware, " the name given to metal utensils coated with an enameled surface composed partly of ground granite. Graniteware was discovered by William Niedringhaus while traveling in Europe. According to company lore, William saw similar pots and pans in a European shop window and then spent weeks and thousands of dollars at the factory to learn all he could about the graniteware process. William brought this knowledge back to St. Louis and in 1874 the Niedringhaus brothers began manufacturing graniteware in their St. Louis plant. The St. Louis Stamping Company received patents for graniteware in 1876 and 1877. Although the iron and tin used by the company was originally imported, the Niedringhaus brothers built their own iron works in St. Louis in 1878 named the Granite Iron Rolling Mills. In the late 1880s, William successfully developed a process to enamel tin. (Previously, only iron could be enameled. ) The Granite Iron Rolling Mills soon began producing tinplate alongside iron." (From The Madison County Illinois historical website).…