They are steel plate stoves fabricated from sheet steel. (foundries pour cast iron) The first Fishers had homemade steel plate doors as well and Bob's father Baxter suggested he have cast doors made to speed the building process. So he had a pattern made (payment for the first pattern was made with a stove) and had a local foundry pour cast iron doors. Even the clones had doors made this way. Fisher had fabricators across the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. They did not allow their licensed fabricators to make their own doors, so fabricators had to buy them from Fisher so they could keep track of how many stoves their fabricators made and know the royalties owed on each stove. Doors were protected to prevent anyone fabricating a stove with an original door, easily making "fake" Fishers.
The main thing about all the patent infringement suits was a judge ruling against Fisher in the All-Nighter case that the design having the door lower than the outlet the way the step was designed could not be patented since you can't patent the way something works naturally. So many copied the style and the Fishers believed the only way to beat the competitors was to build a better stove. Hence the advent of testing, adjustable feet, fancy feet and legs, nickel or brass plating, and eventually glass. Some, like All-NIghter, Timberline and Frontier were from licensed Fisher fabricators that had their license revoked or finished their quota terminating their license agreement and started their own business. The Fisher Stove Story gives details of a few of the people (even related to the Fishers) who were making what looks to be "Fishers" with their own doors.
The first Fisher Stove built was a side vent to set the stove across Bob's fireplace without projecting out into the room. Models were available with side, rear, and top vent.
Patent infringement is still a touchy subject today, so I try to not offend builders who are still alive or their family and workers. I've still been threatened and "corrected" even using legal documents to chronicle some companies history. Things still fester between long gone companies since many are from business proprietors personally associated with their stoves.
A sample of clones; All Nighter, Alpiner, Baker, Berkshire, Buffalo, Fire Boss, Forester, Frontier, Glacier Bay, Huntsman, Lakewood, Old Mill, Old Timer, Penn Wood, Ponderosa, Schrader, Sierra, Timberline, Tri Lakes, Vestal, Wood Saver, Woodland, Woodsman.
My apologies to any industrious entrepreneur, their children or grandchildren I missed.
You know who you are.
