In the early days of Weber, kettles were marketed and sold by traveling salesman. They would put on cooking demonstrations at hardware and department stores, passing out Weber brochures on how to order them. Weber provided these salesman with kettles to use during their demonstrations. The kettles had the letters DEMO imprinted on them.
Here is a article from Weber’ website, written by the Grillmaster – Kevin Kolman.
“The Story Behind “Demo” Kettles” –https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/behind-the-grill/the-story-behind-demo-kettles/weber-30539.html?fbclid=IwAR2t8ntwnjYoQBh0kRscwKYc_ZhhTrn6O200pytm5Vqhrul-XDARDDbnl1w
This one was acquired by WKC member CatskillSmoker.
He was rewarded with this rare grill responding to a resale add posted online. With the assistance of an agent (WKC member randy), CatskillSmoker was able to secure the grill. It is one of only a handful of Arlington Heights kettles (one with a wooden lid handle). It has a Pat Pending lid vent and is believed to be the only unused DEMO kettle to exist.
The kettle was found in an attic by an estate agent selling off items from a couple that had passed away. As much as he tried, CatskillSmoker could not find out any other history on this kettle. Where it came from, how it got into the attic and why it remained unused will remain a mystery.
Here’s a link to the entire story of how CatskillSmoker acquired the grill: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/attic-find!/
That’s pretty sweet. The first weberi owned was a 1977.