Old Man of the Mountain trivets

“Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.” Daniel Webster

The Old Man of the Mountain, first documented by modern settlers in 1805, was a series of granite ledges on Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire. Throughout the 20th century efforts were ongoing to preserve the integrity of this state treasure. However, the rock face collapsed on May 3, 2003. Learn more about the Geology of the Old Man of the Mountain.

I have two trivets commemorating The Old Man of the Mountain. The first is a cast iron trivet signed PORTLAND STOVE FDRY (foundry) PORTLAND ME. Dimensions: 7 1/8″ x 5 1/4″ w/four feet; circa 1950-1970. Portland Stove Foundry was founded in 1877 and was best known for their cast iron cooking and parlor stoves. The company filed for bankruptcy in January 1979, stating they could no longer compete with foreign imports. PSF ceased production in 1984. The physical foundry was destroyed by fire on October 13, 1994.

The second is a “The Old Man of the Mountains” ceramic souvenir signed Old English Staffordshire Ware. It has an early Jonroth England logo (used since 1909) and is marked “Imported for the Flume Reservation Franconia Notch NH”. According to park history I believe this trivet most likely dates to the 1920s-1930s.

Souvenir postcards are also interesting to collect. The one featured at the top is a RPPC (real photo post card) dated 1941. The one below is dated 1934. Both were signed C.T.B. for photographer C. T. Bodwell.