Descoware

The Descoware brand of porcelain-coated cast iron cookware[1] was created by David E. Sanford of the D.E. Sanford Company, later known as Desco Corporation. Sanford purchased the manufacturing rights to the Bruxelles Ware process from General Housewares Corporation in the 1940s, giving him the right to sell the products in the United States.

Descoware enameled cast iron cookware. (Back left poêle à frire with lid, front: fish baker, back right: round terrines of different sizes

Bruxelles Ware was originally manufactured in France. Sanford changed the brand name, and contracted to have Descoware manufactured in the 1950s. After forging in Japan, the wares were sent to be porcelainized in updated colors in Belgium. Descoware weighed about 35 percent less than competing brands of cast-iron cookware, giving it a decided advantage. Descoware also offered matching porcelain-coated aluminum accessories.

The economic growth that Descoware helped generate helped both the Belgian and Japanese economies recover from World War II, and Sanford was Knighted in the name of Belgium's King Baudouin I in 1958 for his role in trade relations.

Descoware remains a sought-after brand of cookware and has a loyal fanbase; single pieces fetch from $20 to over $150.00 USD on eBay. Two of the original colors were originally called cherry flame and citron, but are referred to as orange flame and yellow today.