Vintage Cast Iron Cookware
In Remembrance of a Master Collector: Honoring the Legacy of Lawrence Joel Schiff (1943–2015)
The assemblage built by Lawrence "Joel" Schiff stands as a testament to more than forty years of dedicated pursuit of primarily American and European cast iron cookware.
Throughout those four-plus decades, Joel Schiff's passion for cast iron transformed into genuine mastery. What began as a personal hobby evolved into a widely respected area of expertise, earning him recognition as both an authority and a true connoisseur in the field. His reputation extended well beyond the Brimfield antique markets, reaching fellow dealers and collectors nationwide. He held charter membership in the Wagner and Griswold Society and contributed actively to the Kooks Society — Kollectors of Old Kitchen Stuff — where he played a hands-on role in editing the organization's key publications.
According to his cousin Jeff Schiff, the guiding philosophy behind the roughly 10,000-piece collection was refreshingly straightforward: "anything that you use to eat or that you can cook in." Simple as that sounds, it opened the door to an extraordinary breadth of objects spanning from the 1700s to the modern era. Viewed as a whole, the collection defies any single category. It encompasses skillets, waffle irons, pots, kettles, bins, molds, stove components, and countless other pieces — along with the occasional standalone curiosity such as a nutmeg grater or decorative parrot figure.
Joel was never a box-checker. He did not set out to acquire one example of every size, one artifact from every period, or one specimen in every available color. His approach was far more personal — guided by genuine delight and the happy accidents of discovery that come with a lifetime of searching.
As his knowledge deepened, so did the quality of what he sought. Over time, he grew increasingly selective, gravitating away from ordinary finds and toward pieces with real distinction. The majority of items in this collection are not the kind one stumbles across at an average sale. A handful of pieces are so rare they belong — and in some cases do appear — in museum settings, while others are still obtainable on today's market. What makes the collection especially remarkable is both its functional range and its historical sweep: artifacts from the early eighteenth century sit alongside pieces made within the last two decades. The precise motivation behind every individual acquisition may never be fully known, but the collection as a unified whole speaks clearly — and eloquently — for itself.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity: Rare Cast Iron Goes to Auction
Lodge Cast Iron Foundation Auction 2026
The Joel Schiff Collection
The Lodge Cast Iron Foundation is proud to present an exceptional auction event featuring approximately 1,400 carefully selected pieces drawn from the lifelong collection of Joel Schiff — a deeply admired figure in the cast iron community. Following Joel's passing in 2015, his family generously entrusted thousands of his treasured pieces to the Lodge Cast Iron Foundation. Today, a curated selection of rare and antique ironware from that gift is being offered at auction, with all proceeds directed toward advancing the Foundation's charitable work.
Auction Details
Dates: Friday, June 12 & Saturday, June 13
Attend in Person:
301 South Cedar Avenue, South Pittsburg, TN 37380
(Ticket required for on-site attendance)
Bid Online:
Can't make it to Tennessee? Join the simulcast live on AuctionZip.com — no ticket needed, open to bidders everywhere.
