Blog | Vintage French Copper

Construction

All about martelage

December 19, 2025

Martelage is the term I use for the all-over hammering on copper pans.

Coppersmiths in a workshop hand-hammering copper cookware; various copper pots and pans are scattered on the floor.

Field guides

Field guide to Lefèvre Frères

December 5, 2025

This venerable Villedieu maker lives on today as Atelier du Cuivre.

A collection of vintage copper and other cookware, including saucepans and sauté pans, hangs on a wooden wall behind a seated person.

History

Kitchens with Copper: Jacques Pépin

November 21, 2025

“We are all equal in the eyes of the stove.”

Sauteuse evasee with a long handle, three rivets, tin interior, slight discoloration; resting on a wooden table.

Buyer's Guide

Maker showcase: Rocky Hill Forge

November 7, 2025

At long last, a source for new super-thick copper cookware.

Sauteuse being heated on a stove, with a person polishing its interior, flames visible around the base, wooden table background.

Retinning & restoration

Restoration and retinning options

October 26, 2025

I’ve compiled a list of companies in North America and Europe that offer copper restoration and retinning services.

Copper casserole with a polished brass handle, stainless interior, and visible maker’s mark; displayed in front of a blurred copper background.

Buyer's Guide

Reference: Mauviel bimetal guide

October 25, 2025

I find Mauviel’s steel-lined copper collections confusing, so I made a guide.

Large copper sauté pan with tin lining and long iron handle, featuring a visible maker's stamp, placed on a stovetop.

Gallery

Guest post: Gerhard’s lucky find

October 24, 2025

“I hadn’t noticed the maker’s mark, and I’m pretty sure the dealer hadn’t noticed it either.”

Three vintage copper pots on a stove: a tall stockpot, a low sauté pan, and a rondeau with a lid, all with long handles.

Gallery

Guest post: Gerhard’s Trio Infernale

November 15, 2024

“They easily replace a dumbbell workout…”

Rectangular copper daubière with tall sidewalls, two loop handles, and a flat lid, displayed on a wooden table.

Gallery

46cm Dehillerin-Legry daubière

September 6, 2024

This special piece brings together two of my favorite makers in an unexpected way.

Hanging copper pans including rondeau, casserole, and sauté varieties in a decorated kitchen with Christmas decor and copper stockpots on a table.

History

Kitchens with copper: The Breakers

August 23, 2024

The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, with a kitchen full of copper.

Antique cast iron stove in a kitchen with blue and white tiled backsplash, featuring a brass hot water dispenser and ornate fixtures.

History

Monet’s stove

December 30, 2023

This spectacular stove deserves its own post.

Copper spoon with a long handle and faint maker's mark Dehillerin, resting on a dark leather surface.

Gallery

Guest post: A little story about a big spoon

December 27, 2023

“The spoon had been lying under a cupboard in the cellar of the seller’s parents’ house for more than 60

Sauteuse evasee with brass handle, stainless steel interior, and visible maker's stamp, resting on a small red table.

Gallery

Guest post: Jos Heinrichs copper/steel bimetal “KA-2”

December 8, 2023

“This is far thicker than the 2.5 mm at which modern stainless lined copper maxes out.”

Vintage advertisement for Maurice Kahn & Pariselle, a chaudronnerie specializing in copper cookware.

History

Additional historical catalogs added

October 16, 2023

Reader Kris P. has tracked down some rarities for us.

A vintage kitchen with blue and white tiles features a collection of copper pans, including casseroles and rondeaux, hanging on a wall rack.

History

Copper at Giverny

October 13, 2023

Claude Monet’s house has a kitchen filled with antique French copper. Let’s take a look.

Casserole with tin interior and single long handle, stamped VILLY VILISANA, on a table surrounded by climbing gear.

Gallery

Guest post: Swiss coppersmith Anton Vesti

August 15, 2023

“What a magnificent piece!”

Four copper casseroles with long handles on a stove, varying sizes, showing tin interiors; kitchen utensils hanging above.

Gallery

Guest post: Braig and Wagner

July 25, 2023

“After a while I was quite astonished, when under the thick oxide layer suddenly a company stamp appeared.”

Copper casserole with long handle, rivets, and slightly reflective surface, displayed on a wooden table in sunlight.

Gallery

Guest post: Matt’s Danish saucepan

June 16, 2023

“It is the first I purchased, and the oldest.”

Three vintage copper pans with visible patina and wear, including a sauté pan with a long handle and two rondeaux with loop handles, are placed on a wooden bench.

Retinning & restoration

Guest post: Gerhard rescues two sauté pans

June 2, 2023

“I had a feeling the pans might be something special.”

Copper skimmer with long handle and perforated rectangular head, resting on a wooden table, slight maker's stamp visible.

History

Get to know: The écumoire

April 28, 2023

For quite some time I thought this was a prehistoric spatula.

Copper casseroles with long handles, rivets, and visible stamps, displayed on a cloth.

Gallery

Guest post: Three pans from three German houses

April 14, 2023

“So after a while of hesitation, I bought the two pans. Now you know what my good intentions are worth.”

Exterior of the E. Dehillerin store in Paris with kitchenware displayed in the windows, known for copper cookware.

Miscellany

VFC visits Dehillerin

March 3, 2023

I finally made my pilgrimage to the Dehillerin store in Paris.

Hammered copper daubière with brass handles and tight-fitting lid, sitting on a stove.

History

Get to know: The Pommes Anna pan

February 10, 2023

“Never underestimate the metamorphoses that the culinary arts can cause the taste of the potato to undergo.”

Casserole with a hammered copper exterior, tin-lined interior, long handle, pouring from a wooden spoon on a stove.

Cooking with copper

Guest post: Cold Weather Copper Cooking

November 14, 2022

It’s autumn, so it’s cold! Like many of you (I bet!) I’ve been craving comfort food and snacks, so I’ve

Close-up of a copper pan lid with a brass handle, featuring two rivets; a maker's stamp reads Jacquotot Paris.

Mysteries

The mystery of the dog-bone handles

November 4, 2022

Where did these distinctive handles come from?

Rondeau copper pan with two brass loop handles, tin interior, stamped initials, minor surface wear, positioned on a wooden table.

Gallery

46cm 4mm rondeau “CM”

October 16, 2022

Let’s work through the possible age of this monumental (and unstamped) piece.

Close-up of a worn maker's stamp on copper, showing J R and PARIS with patina and visible wear.

Mysteries

Alex’s J de R stockpot

July 4, 2022

Readers, I’d love your help to consider this mystery piece.

Copper saucepan with tin interior, long iron handle, and visible maker's marks including S. Adams and VR BP on the side.

Gallery

Guest Post: Victoria the Great and my little one

July 1, 2022

Why do certain pans capture the imagination?

A craftsman in a workshop hammers a copper piece, seated in front of a decorative copper grapevine wall hanging.

Miscellany

Maker showcase: Jean Boisserie

June 21, 2022

Readers, you’re in for a treat.

Large oval copper bain marie with two loop handles and a wavy rim, sitting on a wooden table by a window.

Gallery

56cm jambonnière en forme violon

June 8, 2022

This is a spectacular one-of-a-kind piece.

Readers, thanks for your patience while I do some design work on the site.