Q: This item was in my parents’ attic for many years. It has two solid steel plates that screw on the main stem. One is marked “Small” and the other is marked “Large.” There is another plate that is entirely full of holes. The name “Enterprise Mfg. Co., Phila. Pa.” is in raised letters. Along the bottom it says, “8 Qt. No. 35.” Can you tell me what it was used for and what its value could be?
A: The Enterprise Manufacturing Co. was founded in Philadelphia in 1864. The company made cast-iron equipment for chopping, grinding, slicing, and stuffing meats and other food. It also made sad irons for several years. You have a combination sausage stuffer and lard and fruit press used to press sausage into casings, lard from cracklings, and juice from fruit and vegetables. It was pictured on a 1920s trade card, so it dates from that era. Enterprise Manufacturing was sold to Silex in 1955. Your combination stuffer-juicer would sell for more than $100.
I just acquired a similar press. On the front, instead of raised letters/numbers, there’s a yellow label with grinder info and the back of the arch displays “made in the U.S. of America”. Do you know a manufacture year on this model or know when they started using the yellow label? I’m having a hard time dating this piece.