Gallery of panel trivets

A panel trivet is defined by its trowel-shaped design and an oval, square or rectangular plaque bearing advertising or an inscription. Many of these trivets were likely a promotion with a foundry purchase during the mid to late 1800s. Most panel trivets you’ll encounter will be cast iron. Fewer were made in brass or bronze; those are more valuable due to their scarcity.

Several basic designs have been identified. The first features curlicues, a rope edging and a little acorn finial found at the apex. Because this delicate embellishment was easily broken off, be sure to check for the acorn on any curlicue panel trivet before purchasing. The panel trivet below was produced by Ives & Allen Manufacturers of Montreal, Canada.

From its history, we know this panel trivet predates 1874.  Hubert Root Ives and Roger N. Allen were Americans who relocated in Canada; Ives was from Farmington, Connecticut and Allen was from Greenfield, Massachusetts. In 1859 they established the first foundry and manufacturing business in Montreal; in 1868 they added the production of stoves. Unfortunately, in 1870 a massive fire destroyed the bulk of their manufacturing facilities. They rebuilt and expanded their business, becoming one of Montreal’s top employers.

In 1874 the partnership between Ives & Allen was dissolved and Hubert Root Ives continued on alone, continuing to make similar panel trivets labeled H. R. Ives & Co Manufacturers Montreal.

This second design is both simple and elegant. Produced by the American Butt Company, it features a narrow rectangular panel on an openwork design. It has no finial and is unsigned on the reverse.

Dating from the mid 1800s, the American Butt Company was one of three cast iron butt hinge factories located in Providence, Rhode Island. (The other two factories were the New England Butt Company and the Union Butt Company.) A butt hinge is used to mount and operate doors.

Prior to 1880, butt hinges were made of cast iron and they were heavy! The smallest butts made were 1″ square when open, and weighed 12 ounces per pair. The largest were 7″ x 12″ in size and weighed 11 pounds per pair! This 1870s era newspaper clipping advertises cast butt hinges. (After 1880, cast iron hinges became obsolete when butt hinges of thinner, pressed metal came into favor.)

There’s a third design variation that’s occasionally found. The pattern twists from top to bottom, with a rectangular panel in the center. Note the shallow side rails and the two rough gate marks along the edge. There is no finial. This trivet was produced by Fox & Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

For a complete discussion of these and other panel trivets, see my second book The Expanded A-Z Guide To Collecting Trivets (2010), pages 130-135.

Update 4/21/24

Brass Panel Trivet Variation: 8 13/16″ x 3 3/4″ w/three 1″ tapered legs.

A new variation on the panel trivet theme was recently added to my collection. This brass trivet features a handshake, possibly fraternal. Note that the acorn is missing at the apex of the trivet; either it was never included in this design or it broke off at some point.

I may have previously mentioned that my husband Ed and I are selling our house and moving to a retirement community. Going from a house to an apartment entails downsizing ~ and that includes trivets, stands and other collectibles. I wanted to share these images before this entire collection is packed up and shipped. Yes, my panel trivet collection has found a new home! I trust that collector will enjoy it as much as I have. And hopefully there are still a few more panel trivet designs left for him to discover.

PS: Ten of the panel trivets in this collection were purchased in 2010 from the collection of the late John Lidgard. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be the temporary curator of this ever growing collection.

Related information

● Nashua Lock Company panel trivet and butt hinge

● The little New England Butt Company trivet

Update 10/15/24

This was my final Panel Trivet display, before I moved in May 2024 and sold this collection to another collector.

Gallery

Clicking the first image will open a Slideshow. There are controls at the bottom of each screen to enlarge the image to full resolution. Click again (+) to zoom in.