By which I refer to both the solitary tool maker as well as the major tool companies. In general, you will find within this section the trade catalogs of those establishments that concentrated their production on hand tools. While some did produce a variety of foot, steam, water and even electrically powered machinery, the bulk of their enterprise was devoted to hand tools.
PRICES OF PLANES, MADE AND SOLD, For HOME CONSUMPTION & EXPORTATION By JOSEPH CLARK, PLANE-MAKER, NEAR THE NUN-GATE NEWCASTLE, REGULATED BY THE TRADE AUG.. 1816
This fascinating price list from an early 19th Century British planemaker comes to us courtesy of the Tyne & Wear Archives Service. Found through the A2A (Access to Archives) site, the Tyne & Weare Archives Service was kind enough to arrange for a copy of this microfilm. Paul 'Bugbear' Womack stepped in to arrange for the funds for the copy. Unfortunately, Tyne & Weare are not set up for international funds.
The original of this price list was donated by a local gentleman, who unfortunately can no longer be located. The microfilm copy is, as they often are, less than distinct. I worked some Photoshop magic to produce a variety of versions, from which I managed to transcribe most of the price list.
NOTE: This document is provided for the purposes of research and education, courtesy of the Tyne & Weare Archives Service. The orignal may not be reproduced.
UNDERHILL EDGE TOOL COMPANY , NASHUA, N.H.. c1860 Single plate from an unkown catalog. This in a single plate, unfortunately parted from the original catalog. I have a few more plates. Somewhere. When I find them, I'll add them. This one is a very clean bronze powder enhanced engraving from an early folio sized catalog.
MACK & CO. SOLE MANUFACTURERS GENUINE D. R. BARTON... Planes, Edge Tools, Etc., Rochester, N. Y.: Price List of Genuine "D. R. Barton" Planes, Edge Tools, &c. Made only by Mack & Co., 18 Brown's Race, Rochester, N.Y. c1909. Nice Arte Noveau cover design. My order is placed. I'm just waiting on the delivery...
PRICE LIST. MACK & CO., SOLE MANUFACTURERS OF THE D. R. BARTON BRAND CARVING TOOLS. 18 BROWN'S RACE, ROCHESTER, N. Y., 1895. Aside from one split fold and some minor damp staining, a surprisingly well preserved small fold out catalog of carving tools.
XILLO BOREN CATALOGUS c1910. From the Netherlands, an early 20th C catalog for hand drills, most of which I will bet are not often seen this side of the Atlantic.
Contributed by Martin Hagen of the Oldtools eMail List.
BOYNTON'S IMPROVED PATENT LIGHTENING SAWS. NEW YORK. E. M. BOYNTON, SOLE PROPRIETOR AND MANUFACTURER. No. 80 Beekman Street. 1872. A delightful little catalog by the celebrated E. M. Boynton, skewering Disston and all comers as to their claims regarding saws in general, and addressing the clear superiority of the Patented Lightening Saw.
ULMIA TOOLS - GEORG OTT. C1937. Catalog and text courtesy of Wolfgang Jordan ( wolfgang@holzwerken.de ), of the Oldtools eMail List:
"This Georg Ott catalog ('Ulmia tools') is undated, but it is supposed to be from about 1937. Regarding planes, new features had evolved in the preceding years, such as the iron strike button and the hand guard. New ways were developed to hold the wedge. Innovations like this can be found throughout the catalog. These innovations made the George Ott company one of the leading German tool factories. Georg Ott has influenced plane production in other companies through the present day. More information about the history of Georg Ott and Ulmia tools can be found here: http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/hersteller/ulmia.phtml"
"Dieser Katalog der Firma Georg Ott ('Ulmia-Werkzeuge') ist undatiert, aber offensichtlich um 1937 herausgegeben. Die Hobel waren in den letzten Jahren gründlich überarbeitet worden und haben bereits ihre heutige Form mit Schlagknopf, Handschoner und eisernem Keilwiderlager. Auch viele andere Werkzeuge wurden verbessert. Die Innovationskraft der Firma Georg Ott verhalf ihr zu einer führenden Stellung unter den Holzwerkzeugherstellern und hatte einen großen Einfluss auf die Herstellung von Hobeln und anderen Werkzeugen bis heute. Mehr Informationen über die Geschichte von Georg Ott und Beispiele von Ulmia-Werkzeugen hier: http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/hersteller/ulmia.phtml"
MILLERS FALLS COMPANY, CATALOGUE "B", POCKET EDITION , c1904?. Millers Falls issued a series of pocket catalogues that are simply cute to behold, apart from superb graphics of rare and unusual items. Read it and drool.
FORD BIT CO. Holyoke, Mass. c1896-1900. Yes, this catalog really is that yellow. A nice catalog from one of the lesser known auger bit companies. A great piece of printing design work too. One of the best examples of the "Eastlake" style of late 19th Century graphic design.
MECHANICS' TOOLS MANUFACTURED BY DOUGLASS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ALSO, EXCLUSIVE MANUFACTURERS OF COOK'S PATENT BORING IMPLEMENTS. Warehouse, 45 & 47 Chanbers Street, New York. May 1st, 1873. Not really a catalog, this four page flyer was apparently mailed to holders of the catalog in an attempt to clarify misrepresentations by other manufacturers. As a result, in four pages there is a concise and complete review of the full line of tools manufactured by the Douglass Mfg. Co.
