Q: I bought this plaque for $10 at an estate sale. It looks like bronze but a magnet will stick to it, so it must be iron. On the back it says, “F. & L. Kahn Brothers, Hamilton, Ohio.” I know they made ornate stoves. I believe this piece was given as a prize for high sales. It’s 24 inches wide by 12 inches high and is very heavy. I love the piece and would like a little information about it.

A: Brothers Felix and Lazard Kahn bought a stove company, Martin, Henderson and Co., in Hanging Rock, Ohio, in 1882 and changed the compay’s name to F. & L. Kahn and Brothers. The company moved to Hamilton and began production there in 1885. The company name became the Estate Stove Co. in 1905. Production continued in Hamilton under various owners until 1961. The faces on your plaque probably represent the five major American Indian tribes in Ohio in the 18th and early 19th centuries: the Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot.