From Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book by Mary Johnson Bailey Lincoln (1884): This kettle was intended to be used in the process of preserving fruit by cooking it with sugar. Due to the fact that it was to have fruit and sugar sitting in it overnight, the best kettle (according to Mrs. Cornelius, The Young Housekeepers Friend) is ironware lined with porcelain. This enamelware kettle shows many years of use with its interior stained at mid-level. Its iron bail handle, rolled lip, sloping sides, pouring spout and tipping handle are other features of a preserving kettle. The lid and kettle were donated to the Michigan State University Museum together but it is unknown whether or not the lid pictured on the kettle is the original one which came with this piece. This lid could be from another pot of the same size.
