The metal lids are from the arly 1940's before WWII.
Aluminumware fell out of grace during the 1980's since it was believed cooking on it could produce Alzheimer's disease. Patients with Alzheimer's disease happen to have an elevated level of aluminum in their system.
While aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer's disease, there is no definite link proven. The World Health Organization estimates that adults can consume more than 50 milligrams of aluminum daily without harm. During cooking, aluminum dissolves most easily from worn or pitted pots and pans.
The pieces on the left have been in the possession of UserX since 1985. The exteriors were painted with a high temperature BBQ black spray paint in the late 1980's. The cooking surfaces should never be painted.
This logo with the three stars on either side is from the 1950's.
The handles were made out of chrome plated steel and Bakelite. Difficult to find the smaller Bakelite handles without any scorching from stove use. One of the smaller handles has a mild amount of scorching.
1951 Guardian Ware
A collection of aluminum ware photographs from from pre-WWII and the early 1950's.
Guardian Service cookware (GS), aka Guardian Ware, is a highly sought after collectible made by Century Metalcraft Corporation of Los Angeles, California from the mid 1930s until 1956, when the plant burned down. Independent salesman sold GS cookware similar to the way that Tupperware was sold during the 1960s. A hostess would host a party at their house, and invite several of their friends over. At these dinner parties, the GS salesman would prepare a delicious meal for the guests, all in hopes of selling them some of the GS cookware. GS cookware was considered to be an expensive set of cookware during the 1940s and 50s. It would cost about a month's pay to buy the full set. In today's dollars, that would be about $2,500! In many cases, the dinner party guests would only buy one or two pieces.
Constructed out of hammered aluminum it is considered to be heavy-duty and almost "bullet proof" in contrast to today's cookware. During the pre-WWII years, this cookware had metal lids. Because of the rationing during the War, the lids were made from oven-proof glass. GS cookware has the trademark Knight's helmet logo stamped on the bottom of the cookware. There were 3 different designs of the logo: One had the Knight's helmet and crossed swords, the next had the helmet and 2 stars on either side, and the last version had the helmet and 3 stars on either side. The glass lids also were etched with the Knight's helmet, but they also had crossed battle axes.
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Valued in the range of $150 - $225.