I've got several heavy aluminum pots and mixing bowls that I use in my shop for various tasks. Cleaning one the other day, I noticed the stamp above on the back of the pots.
First produced in 1825, aluminum was prohibitively expensive to produce and was therefore classed as a semi-precious metal. On February 23, 1886, while working in a woodshed in his kitchen in Oberlin, Ohio, Charles Hall discovered an inexpensive method of smelting aluminum out of bauxite and founded the Pittsburgh Reduction Company in 1888, which became the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) in 1907. As a way to increase the market for this new material, Wear-Ever cookware was launched in 1903, initially sold door-to-door by college students. In 1912, the U.S. Marine Corps officially adopted the brand as their standard issue. In 1909, Admiral Robert Perry took examples of the brand to the North Pole. (As seen on the 1919 ad below, the name "Wear-Ever" became an awkwardly worded slogan "Replace utensils that wear out with utensils that Wear-Ever!")
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| 1919 |
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| Life, November 1940 |
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| Life, April 1947 |
In the parent U.S. version, the trademark had "Tacu Co" vertically in the centre. These were the initials of The Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of New Kensington, Pennsylvania.
In Canada, the products were stamped "A.G. Ltd." I have been unsuccessful in discovering the actual name of this company. However, the Wear-Ever products in Canada were made by the Northern Aluminum Company, founded in Shawinigan, Quebec in 1902. (In 1925, it became the Aluminum Company of Canada, better known as Alcan). In 1913, the company opened a kitchen utensil plant and foundry in Toronto, and a rolling mill a few years later.
Since 2006, Wear-Ever has been a division of Groupe SEB which claims that "Every second, 6 products from Groupe SEB are sold somewhere in the world."
nice post
ReplyDeleteA lady friend of mine uses the WearEver Cookware and she’s got lots of positive things to say about them, including the heavy aluminum pots and mixing bowls. I also find stainless steel cookware to be quite resourceful. See some designs here: http://hikingmastery.com/top-pick/best-cookware-material.html
ReplyDeleteUsed a 10 inch wide, 7 inches deep Wear-Ever pot today I had forgotten I inherited with the logo TACUCO vertically as shown above. There was a "No. 2208" stamped on as well. Any idea of age ??
ReplyDeleteJim
Yo Jim.... Masonboro asked you a question like 18mos. ago & you haven't answered the question, nor even acknowledge the person who's inquiring about an amazing piece of early Americana, the industrial boom, also (this is one man's opinion) I wholeheartedly believe that no 2 Tea Kettles are or will ever be the same, which tells me that artisans, craftspeople, very talented creative minds were given the chance to express themselves through design and uniqueness of the highest quality I've ever laid eyes on personally, which reminds me of "American Folklore Arts & Crafts". Honestly I'm no expert, well educated, armed with ammo to stand my ground, and the ground in which I stand is that from my upbringing. Meaning long story short, my mom was born August 20, 1910 and being the people who they were, I grew up surrounded by her grandparents furnishings, paintings, & things, etc.... Therefore I believe that I'm an authority whenever it comes to antiquities and such. However the question directed to you remains unanswered.... NUFF SAID
DeleteSincerely yours truly,
Joseph L. Beamon
Aloha & Mahalo
Our family has used WearEver that is stamped Made in Canada for the past 67 years.
ReplyDeleteI inherited my mothers wear.ever pots and pans. The stamp on the bottom of mine is No. 302. Was wondering what year they might have come out?
ReplyDeleteWhen my parents passed, I inherited their Wear-Ever roaster pan. I used it tonight. My Dad sold Wear-Ever. It was just the right size for what I needed tonight and it brought back great memories of my parents. I will pass it on to my daughter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note and favourable review!
ReplyDeleteHi All, I have an Aluminium Wear-Ever No. 4810 Mug and would like to find out it’s value. It has the trade Mark stamped into the metal on the bottom of the mug. I haven’t seen any for sale anywhere on the web. I’m hoping one of your reader can help. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI have a tall 10" Wearever TACO Co Aluminum coffee pot complete with 2 strainers. Does anyone know how these strainers are to be used? Together? SSeparately? Any info would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Dorothy
There is a good video on you tube showing how to use that coffee pot
DeleteDorothy, i think this might be a drip coffee pot. If the top part has small holes in it, you put the coffee in the strainer part, set it on the bottom part, put the top part on the strainer part and pour hot water thru. It seeps over the grounds and comes out coffee in the bottom part.
ReplyDeleteI believe I have a cake were ever cover not sure
ReplyDeleteWe have have a vintage WearEver teapot no. 42, made in Canada that resides at our summer cottage. Although we don’t make tea with it, it’s a favourite plaything of all children, pouring water into and out of at the lake! Pours beautifully. AG means Aluminum Group. Treasured part of the cottage.
ReplyDeleteSorry, AG on the bottom of a Canadian made item stands for Aluminum Goods, a subsidiary of Alcan
ReplyDeleteSame stamp as shown above: I have a pot 5"deep, 9"wide with a lid, a small handle with a hole, possibly to hold a wooden spoon or for a hook to help lift it. This TACUCO Pot is No.130, Maker Mark "Made in USA" I also have a soup pot.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to when it was made. I got it from my grandmother, I got it from my grandmother, if it was made early 1900's, it may have come from her mother.
Have you determined what the "TAC UCO" stands for?
Thanks,
CLR
P.S. My pot doesn't say Reg. U.S. Pat. Ofc. on the stamp.
ReplyDeleteSo many small variations over the years and various factories... difficult to sort it out.
ReplyDeleteBTW TACU Co. is The Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company
I found a No 1174. 4 1/2 qt pot no handles no lid does anyone know what it was used for originally
ReplyDeleteI have a pot set of 4 made in Canada, aqua blue lids , 982 , 984 ,986 , 997 , what does the letter L mean ?
ReplyDeleteCould someone please explain this to me !
ReplyDeleteNicely made stuff but I relegated mine to shop use many years ago because aluminum is linked to osteoporosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers, and even banned in cookware in parts of Europe. Culinary purists avoided it long before that.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.parkinsonsresource.org/news/articles/aluminum-foil-and-parkinsons/
Many products popular long ago had unintended consequences. Alloy pots etc do work fine for cleaning carburetors and other uses with solvents (avoid acids as aluminum is highly reactive, plastic is preferred for those).
I think the link to Alzheimer's has been discounted; https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia
ReplyDeletebut why take the chance. So many products are suspect, Teflon is another.
I’m not sure if you know but I have a baking pan and it has that exact same stamp except it says “made in the USA”. I guess they made them in both countries. I inherited mine and it has been passed down at least 5 generations that I know for a fact. I remember my great-grandmother had it when I was little and knew it had already been handed down a few generations before that. It still is my go to cake pan. It’s better than anything I can buy today. That being said for my cookware for stovetop if you have to buy new, my Hexclad is awsome, expensive but awesome
ReplyDelete"A.G Ltd." probably stands for Aluminum Goods! They were a subsidiary of Alcan, started in the 30s I think.
ReplyDelete