Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
This is a sand-cast aluminum prototype mold that was used for making Nordic Ware’s Tyrolean cake pan. The design is clearly demarcated on the inside, but the outside is unadorned and has a rough finish. The Tyrolean pan this mold made is one of Nordic Ware’s earliest products, and came with a set of recipes.
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