France Cat

I think cleaning this guy up and finding all it's secrets has been a really fun experience. I KNOW it's good lol but that pretty much goes with anything. You don't have to know what brand something is or who made it, as long as it works, right. Most things in life don't have a rich history though. Not knowing and not caring about the history of something that's possibly well over a century old, in a very traditional hobby like this is almost irresponsible, the way i see it.

Hey guys! So it's been a long time coming and sorry to leave you all hangin, but I got the anvil cleaned up finally, and I think she really shined up nice! I got some new pictures, so hopefully this is enough to go off of to crack the code. I'll list photos of markings starting with the associated surface and include context if necessary. Here we are. Overview Front Side and Markings Two vertical MJD's high end of foot, left side. BRO... Here is another set of MJD's on the front side. This time upside down, roughly centered left and right and 1-1/2 inches below the face. Heel Foot and Markings This looks like an anchor to me. Or some other symbol? Almost dead center. Horn Foot and Markings Back Side With No Apparent Markings Bottom So there she blows. What do you guys think? I see a pretty clear 22 on one foot and a string of 1's 2's and 0's that don't exactly follow the standard weight labeling system... I'm not sure what to make of that. The anvil weighs 255. The marks look like 1 1 0 1 0 to me. No idea. The left side of the heel foot looks like a pretty straight forward 22. Could be a possible inspection mark? Certainly any other ideas are welcome there. I have no Idea why there are 3 MJD's on the side and 1 elsewhere on the foot, maybe just to MAKE SURE your initials lasted? As far as the bottom goes, it sounds pretty conflicting to be American with a completely flat bottom. And then of course, we have the BRO on the side. I think that covers everything. So that's it. The project was a lot more work than I envisioned but was so rewarding and satisfying. I'm proud of her no matter the maker, but it's definitely exciting to know. Soooo, any ideas? Thanks for all the help guys.

This is all very exciting! I'm still in the works of getting her clean and just flipped it to work on the underside of the horn and such. I tried to show with my phone beneath the dolly but I guess it was still hard to see. But TO ME, the bottom appears clearly flat. Sharp edges around the base. This would indicate a European origin, or so it's said. I can imagine this being a pretty reliable rule of thumb, but there has be exceptions right? There's embossed organic looking markings on the front bottom that look like it could be the cursive of Hay Budden, numbers on the foot I can't clearly make out yet, and MJD stamped on the face with the BRO. I'm going to get to cleaning those up tomorrow but for now I thought a clear photo of the undercarriage would help steer us closer. Thanks for all the help guys! I'll keep you posted.

Hi all, New here! So I acquired this anvil and plan on giving it the old wire wheel treatment this weekend. I would love knowing more about when/where/who made this guy, I just don't know a whole lot about the subject. So, basically any information is wonderful. The photos provided are the before photos I almost forgot to take. You can see my start on the lower portion of the left leg in photo 1. The close up with the blatant "BR..." is on the side shown in the first picture as well. So far those are the only markings I can make out, but I hope more will show themselves with a little love. I'll return once the surface is cleaned up with new pics. Thanks guys!