N. Waterman cast iron 1859 patented "gem" muffin pan

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This pan was acquired on Ebay by AGSAS member Kathryn Coombs in August, 2003. Nathaniel Waterman was a Boston-based manufacturer of cast iron items. While his output apparently wasn't as large as some of the better known makers, it was still signficant. The Waterman family were 17th century settlers in Massachussetts and one branch traces themselves back to John Alden & Priscilla Mullins on the female side. Ironware manufacturer Nathaniel Waterman might have been the son or nephew of another Nathaniel Waterman who is listed in the 1800 Boston City Directory as a merchant. The name Nathaniel was extremely common in this family and repeated through the generations in various branches of the family. Kathryn posted a query to the CW-Reenactors.com email list asking if anyone had any information on Nathaniel Waterman's company or products. Virginia Mescher kindly offered to look up the patent information on the "gem pan" and this is what she posted: "The Waterman patent was issued on April 5,1859 and was for an "egg pan and cake baker" and was for a pan with eleven cups with flat bottoms. The patent stated, 'The open spaces between the cups allowed for the currents of heat to pass upwards between them so as to equalize the heat against their surfaces. The metallic connections of the cups serve as conveyers of heat from cup to cup.' I did a quick check at the PTO website and found Waterman's patent number for the egg and cake baker. It is 23,517. Apparently, he had previously patented other cast iron pans in 1858, but after the 4/5/1859 patent date, all of his cookware was dated with this date, rather than an eariler date.   Waterman established a kitchen furnishing business in September, 1827. His 1858 patent was for a pan for 'baking bread in small rolls.'"