I went to a preview for an online auction yesterday and saw this little gadget. I was finally able to identify it as a chafing dish heater made by S. Sternau & Co in the early 1900's. If you twist the knob the top opens and there is a cap on chain over a center tube. Sternau made heaters for their chafing dishes, teapots and coffee makers and the company is best known for inventing Sterno. What my husband and I are trying to figure out is what sort of fuel would have been used in this particular heater? Alcohol? Sterno? Thanks for any ideas...
