Black Cast Iron Fire Starter Pot/Cauldron with Heavy Brass Lid and Pumice Wand

This is an antique fireplace accessory used to ignite fires with little kindling or paper, cleaner and simpler than the ‘old way’. The three-legged pot would be partly filled with kerosene or other fuel. The pumice wand would be used to soak up the fuel, then lit with a match and placed under wood in the fireplace or in a wood-heated stove, the pumice able to hold a flame for longer than other materials.
 
Fire starters date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. They also known as smudge pots, but smudge pots are most often associated with outdoor use keeping crops warm during frost.
 
For Elvis Presley fans, we read that his own fire starter sold for $ 475 in 2020.
 
Our pot is in very good condition, although the lid has some stains and scratches appropriate with its age and could use further polishing. There is a very small chip on the edge of the mouth of the pot, barely visible. The wand also needs more polishing, some discoloration atop the finial on the handhold side. We did not see any makers marks. It has no visible cracks or leaks. Swing handle moves smoothly although either has some soot stains we could not clean, or we mistakenly cleaned black paint off of the handle after assuming the metal peeking out of some sections was the original handle material, oops. The handle metal does not appear to be brass as it is silver in color.
 
Pot H 7 ½” x L with cast iron handles 7 ½” x W without handles 5”; Pumice Wand approx. 13” long.
9.2 lbs
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.