Atlanta Stoveworks: 1889 Conestoga #40

[Merit]

Does this ring a bell to anyone? I bought a small antique cast iron wood/coal- burning stove with this information on it. Can't find any information on it, and am very curious about it's history, potential value, etc. Any suggestions even as to where to start? I just love it.

[haypoint]

photo would help.

try this
http://goodtimestove.blogspot.com/20...d-burning.html

[Merit]

Great site, thanks for it. The stove isn't at my house yet, so no photos, but this link shows a picture & description: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...ta-stove-works Isn't it pretty? I just love it and can't wait to really get to check it out & explore it. Now I'm just very interested to know the history/usage/etc of the stove, and mildly curious about the value today. Seems to be in excellent shape--but then again, I haven't thoroughly explored it yet. Any insights would be thrilling..

[Merit]

Ok, the link is EXACTLY what I have. It looks funny to me because the picture in the link is missing the rounded top piece. I have it. I can't seem to find this particular stove ANYWHERE online. Not getting any further in researching it.

[haypoint]

Back in the mid to late 1970s, when fuel prices shot up, there were a few stoves produced in Taiwan that looked like antiques. I think they were called Atlanta. There was the potbelly one like in the link, a Ben Franklin open front and a stove called a parlor stove with a chrome ornament on top.
The one you are getting is tiny. I had one. The grate is turned by a rod sticking out the side. Real cheaply made, thin castings. Like the junk we get from China today. Great to look at, but not really useful.

When you say rounded top piece, are you referring to the lid (also sometimes called spider or eye)? Were you intending to heat with this or just have as an ornament?
Hope you didn't pay much for it.

Ebay has a Ben Franklin made by Atlanta in the 1980s:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Franklin-Cas...item3ca25240b4

I just found this:
Atlanta Stove Works, formerly maker of the "'Cue Cart," a great grill that I must have cooked 100M lbs. on, and other excellent smaller models, such as the Sportsman portable grill of all cast iron. A great little grill. I treasure mine. Alas, the company bit the dust from terminal stupidity of management.

It was absorbed by Birmingham Stove Works which became Birmingham Stove and Range. I met with them about 10 years ago to get them to restore the 'Cue Cart to their line. They were all flamed up about the big sales in wood burning heaters and pooh-poohed the idea of keeping a dumb grill. They made the excellent woodburning heaters under tha names of Atlanta Stove Works, Birmingham Stove Works, Knight Heater and Ashley.

Another ebay listing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250654093931


It looks nicer than the ones I remember.

[haypoint]

Here is one of those cheap Taiwan Atlanta like the one I had back in the 1980s It wasn't (isn't) an antique.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/atq/1733670848.html

[Merit]

Thanks for the research! I was able to verify your information about Atlanta being bought by Birmingham, and of it being an authentic, quality antique stove. (Glad to rule out the junky Tiawanese possibility. Although being completely heavy cast iron, I wasn't TOO worried..) I learned that it was made in three sizes, the next size up--same exact design, 10" taller and xxx" wider--sold on ebay this year for (what was it?) something like $300, I believe. Mine IS absolutely tiny (24" tall, weights about 50 lbs) That is part of it's charm to me. I bought it for $40 after spotting it in a friend's barn. (He had a nice old parlor stove too, but wouldn't part with that one!) These little ones, I've read, were used to heat single rooms, offices, "railroad stoves" (coach cabins, train stations-the larger model) or would be perfect to heat a cozy cabin. (I didn't see any cracks, warping, gaps or anything in the firebox, grate and pipe. Would need to be professionally evaluated, however) Anyway, if it proves unsafe it'll serve as very charming decoration. There are a handfull of inquiries on this model and size, but not a whole lot. (probably not a huge demand, eh? Due to size?) Anyway, I'm still completely enamored with it and even moreso for learning the little tidbits. I thank you for that! And the last ebay listing you'd found? The one titled "antique cast iron parlor stove atlanta potbelly #16"? You found the 'bigger sister' of mine. Mine looks EXACTLY like that. Will be interesting to see what it sells for. (Not that I have the slightest intention of selling mine) Thanks so very much!